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BY  EEV.  JOHN  A.  BEOALUS,  D.D,  LL.D. 

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*      OCT   9  1911 


HISTORY  OF  PREACHING 


JOHN  A.  BROADUS,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

FROF,  IN  THE  SOUTHERN   BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,   LOUISVILLE,   KY. 


J^EJV  EDITjON. 


NEW    YORK 

A.    C.    ARMSTRONG    AND    SON 

3*5  West  i8tli  Street,  hear  5th  Avenue 
1907 


Ck>FTBiaHT, 

BHXLDON    &     COMPANT. 
1876. 


In  compliance  with  current 
copyright  law,  LBS  Archival 

Products  produced  this 

replacement  volume  on  paper 

that  meets  the  ANSI  Standard 

Z39.48-1984  to  replace  the 

irreparably  deteriorated 

original. 

1993 

(00) 


PREFACE. 


These  lectures  were  delivered  at  the  Newton  The- 
ological Institution,  neai  Boston,  in  May  last.  I  had 
been  requested  to  discuss  subjects  connected  with 
Homiletics,  and  the  place  of  delivery  was  the  lecture- 
room  of  the  church.  It  was  therefore  necessary 
that  the  lectures  should  be  popular  in  tone,  and 
should  abound  in  practical  suggestions.  Under  such 
circumstances,  I  could  not  fail  to  perceive  the  diffi- 
culty ot  treating,  in  four  or  five  lectures,  so  vast  a 
subject  as  the  History  of  Preaching.  For  this  history 
is  interwoven  with  the  general  history  of  Christianity, 
which  itself  belongs  inseparably  to  the  history  of  Civ- 
ilization. Yet  I  greatly  desired  to  develop,  however 
imperfectly,  the  leading  ideas  involved  in  the  history 
of  preaching ;  to  show  what  causes  brought  about  the 
prosperity  of  the  pulpit  at  one  time  and  its  decline  at 
another  ;  to  indicate  the  gi'eat  principles  as  to  preach- 


IT  PEEFACTB. 

ing  which  are  tluis  tanght  us.  I  trust  that  my  at- 
tempt may  be  of  service  to  those  who  have  never  made 
any  survey  of  this  wide  field,  and  may  stimulate 
some  persons  to  study  particular  portions  of  it  with 
thoroughness,  and  thus  gradually  to  fill  up  the  gap 
which  here  exists  in  English  religious  literature. 

The  principal  helps  which  are  accessible,  chiefly  in 
other  languages,  are  mentioned  in  the  Appendix. 
While  using  them  with  diligence,  I  have  scarcely  ever 
simply  borrowed  their  statements,  and  in  such  cases 
have  always  indicated  the  fact.  "Where  not  giving  the 
results  of  my  own  study  and  teaching  in  the  past,  I 
have  sought  to  test  by  personal  examination  the  ideas 
and  critical  judgments  of  others,  before  adopting 
them.  At  some  points  my  knowledge  has  of  necessity 
been  quite  limited.  If  errors  have  arisen  as  to  matter 
of  fact,  I  shall  esteem  it  a  favor  to  have  them  pointed 
out.  As  regards  the  merits  of  particular  preachers, 
there  is  of  course  much  room  for  difference  of  opin- 
ion. The  sketches  of  eminent  preachers  are  usually 
very  slight,  but  it  could  not  be  otherwise  if  space  was 
to  be  saved  for  general  ideas  and  for  practical  hints. 

Some  further  explanations  will  be  found  at  the  be* 
ginning  and  end  of  the  closing  lecture. 


PREFACE.  V 

The  kind  reception  given  to  tlie  lectures  at  New- 
ton by  a  general  audience  of  ladies  and  gentlemen,  as 
well  as  by  the  Faculty  and  Students,  has  led  me  to 
hope  that  they  may  find  readers  who  are  not  ministers, 
but  who  take  interest  in  preaching,  in  Christianity,  in 
history. 

God  grant  that  the  little  volume  may  be  of  som.€ 
real  use. 

Gbeenyille,  S.  C,  Oct.,  1876. 


CONTENTS. 


LECTURS    I. 

Bpecimekb  of  Preaching  in  the  Biblb. 

PAaa 

Design  of  the  lectures 5 

Judah  before  Joseph 6 

Moses  and  Joshua 7 

Jotham 8 

David 8 

Solomon 10 

^The  Prophets 10 

Elijah 12 

Amos 13 

Jonah I'i 

y  Isaiah 1"^ 

/  Jeremiah 16 

Ezekiel 17 

/  John  the  Baptist 19 

/  <)ur  Lord  as  a  Preacher 28-36 

Authoritative 22 

Relation  to  the  common  mind .' 24 

Controversial •  •  •  •  25 

Eepetitions 27 

Variety 81 

Use  of  paradox  and  hyperbole 81 

Tone  and  spirit 35 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

PAsa 

^  The  Epistles 86 

^  Paul 38 

/-^-Hia  style 39 

^Adaptation 40 

^  Christian  Rhetoric 43 


LECTURE    II. 

PBEACHIHQ   IK  THE  EA^LT   CHBISTIAN   CKNTUBIKS. 

First  period 44 

Second  century 45 

Informal  preaching 46 

Lay- preaching 47 

Forgotten  laborers 49 

Kol  many  wise 60 

Origen 51 

As  scholar  and  teacher 52 

As  to  allegorizing 53 

\As  a  preacher 56 

Second  period 67 

Eusebius 63 

Athanasius 63 

Ephraem  Syrus 64 

Macarius 65 

Asterius 66 

Basil  the  Great 67 

Gregory  Nazianzen , 71 

Chrysostom 73 

Ambrose , 79 

Augustine 81 

General  remarks,  as  to  entrance  on  the  ministry 84 

As  to  education 86 

A  Theological  Seminary 89 

As  to  Christian  classics 91 

Blank  after  Chrysostom  and  Augustine , 91 


coifTEirrs.  IX 

LECTURE  III. 
Medieval  and  Reformation  PiiEACHiNa. 

TAAt 

Reaeona  for  attention  to  Medieval  Preaching 93 

Peter  th«  Hermit 95 

V^t.  Bernard 97 

Dominicans  and  Franciscans 100 

Antony  of  Padua 101 

Thomas  Aquinas 106 

Why  all  in  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries 109 

Tauler 110 

Hubs  and  Savonarola 112 

Reformation  Preaching 118 

A  revival  of  preaching 113 

A  revival  of  Biblical  and  expository  preaching 114 

Of  controversial  preaching 116 

Of  preaching  upon  the  doctrines  of  grace 117 

Contrast  between  Luther  and  Calvin 118 

Yet  both  great  preachers 119 

Calvin  as  a  commentator  and  a  preacher 121 

Luther  as  a  preacher 122 

Personality  in  preaching 124 

Zwingle 127 

Public  debates 128 

Anabaptist  preachers,  viz 

Habmaier 129 

Grebel 132 

Menno 133 

Use  of  printing  to  aid  preaching 183 

LECTURE  IV. 

The  Gkbat  Fbench  Pbeaohkbb. 

Keltic  eloquence 185 

Age  of  LouiflXIY IW 


I  CONTENTS. 

Prosperity  of  France 137 

An  age  of  great  intellectual  activity 141 

Of  elegant  general  literature 144 

Excellence  of  the  French  language 145 

Art 148 

Catholics  stimulated  by  the  Reformed  and  by  the  Jansenists  147 

The  king's  penchant  for  eloquent  preaching 148 

Fashionable  to  admire  pulpit  eloquence 149 

Low  stage  of  the  Catholic  pulpit  before  Bossuet 151 

Able  Reformed  preachers  before  Bossuet,  viz. 

Du  Moulin 153 

Faucheur 154 

Daille 156 

-s.   Bossuet 158 

Bourdaloue 164 

Fenelon 170 

Du  Boac 171 

Claude 172 

Massillon 174 

Saurin 177 

Decline  of  the  French  pulpit  in  the  eighteenth  century  . . .   180 

Eloquent  French  preachers  in  the  nineteenth  century 182 

^^^ertain  faults  of  the  great  French  preachers 183 

Letter  from  M.  Bersier 185 


LECTURE  V. 

The  English  Pulpit.  -^ 

Five  periods 166 

Wyclif 188 

Colet 191 

Latimer 198 

John  Knox 194 

Decline  after  the  Reformation 107 

Revival  In  the  next  century 208 


CX)NTENTS.  XI 

Jeremy  Taylor 201 

Leighton 203 

Baxter 204 

Owen 206 

Flavel 207 

Bunyan 207 

John  Howe 209 

Barrow 212 

South 217 

Tillotson 217 

Threatened  decline  in  the  eighteenth  century 219 

Atterbury,  Watts,  Doddridge 221 

VVhitefield 222 

«fVesley 222 

Robert  Robinson 223 

Robert  Hall 224 

Christmas  Evans 226 

William  Jay 227 

Chalmers 227 

Recent  English  preachers 228 

Expository  preachers 229 

Importance  of  reading  old  books 230 

Suggestions  for  the  future,  viz. 

As  to  Physical  Science  and  Theology 231 

Reaction  from  skepticism 231 

Humanity  of  Christ 232 

Humanitarian  and  liberal  tendencies 233 

Freedom  as  to  methods  of  preaching 233 

Love  of  sensation 234 

Genuine  eloquence 234 

Conclusion 23S 


APPENDIX. 
Oh  ths  Litbratubk  of  the  Subjxot. 


,« 


LECTURE   I. 

SPECIMENS  OF  PREACHING  IN  THE  BIBLE 

It  is  my  purpose  in  these  lectures  to  offer  you 
Bome  observations  on  the  History  of  Preaching.  The 
subject  is  obviously  too  vast  to  be  treated  in  five 
lectures.  You  will  please  notice,  therefore,  that  I 
shall  by  no  means  attempt  a  systematic  discussion  of 
the  history  of  preaching,  but  shall  only  make  obser- 
vations upon  some  of  its  most  characteristic  and 
instructive  periods.  My  general  plan  will  be  as  fol- 
lows : — "While  giving  a  brief  account  of  the  leading 
preachers  in  one  of  these  periods,  I  shall  concern 
myself  chiefly  with  two  inquiries;  first,  what  was 
the  relation  of  these  preachers  to  their  own  time, 
and  secondly,  what  are  the  .principal  lessons  thay 
have  left  for  us.  These  lessons  will  in  part  be 
formally  stated,  but  will  often  come  out  only  in 
the  way  of  incidental  remark  as  we  go  on.  I 
hope  that  we  shall  thus  draw  from  the  wide  field 
of  our    contemplation    some  immediate    instructior 


(1  ON    UISTORY    OF    I'KEACHIXG. 

and  stimulus  for  our  own  work  as  preachers,  and 
also  that  you  may  become  eo  far  interested  in  the 
subject  as  hereafter  to  occupy  yourselves,  more 
largely  than  might  otherwise  have  been  the  case, 
with  the  truly  magnificent  literature  of  the  Pulpit. 

Tliis  first  lecture  will  be  devoted  to  Preaching 
in  the  Bible.  I  can  only  mention  some  of  the 
most  important  examples,  including  one  or  two 
secular  speeches  which  are  of  some  interest.  On 
the  Old  Testament  it  is  necessary  to  be  particu- 
larly brief,  in  order  to  discuss  somewhat  more 
fully  the  preaching   of   our  Lord. 

The  speech  of  Judah  before  Joseph,  is  unsur- 
passed in  all  literature  as  an  example  of  the  sim- 
plest, tenderest,  truest  pathos.  And  if  you  want 
to  see  the  contrast  between  pathos  and  bathos  as 
you  will  rarely  see  it  elsewhere,  just  read  the  'e- 
production  of  this  speech  by  Philo  (Works,  II, 
73,  Mangey),  elaborated  in  the  starchy  fashion  of 
the  Alexandrian  school — and  do  by  all  means 
read  this  as  translated  and  expanded  in  worthy 
Dr.  Hunter's  Sacred  Biography,  ironed  out  and 
smoothed  down  into  the  miraculous  elegance  of 
«tyle    which    belongs    to    the    school    of    Dr.  Blair. 


MOSES.  7 

That  two  men  of  cultivation,  one  of  them  a  man 
of  eminent  ability,  should  regard  this  vapid  stufl 
as  in  any  sense  an  improvement  upon  Judah's 
epeech,  is  a  phenomenon  in  criticism,  and  a  warning 
to  rhetoricians. 

"We  have  a  Farewell  Address  from  Moses,  viz. 
the  Book  of  Deuteronomy.  And  like  many  English 
and  German  discourses,  the  sermon  ends  with  a 
hymn,  composed  by  the  preacher.  Some  students 
of  Homiletics  would  at  once  fasten  on  the  fact  that 
this  first  recorded  example  of  an  extended  discourse 
was  a  written  sermon.  Others  would  reply  that 
in  this  case  the  speaker  was  aware  that  he  was  not, 
by  training  or  by  nature,  an  orator,  but  a  man 
**slow  of  speech  and  slow  of  tongue."  The  one 
remark  would  be  about  as  good  as  the  other,  each 
of  them  amounting  to  very  little — as  is  the  case  with 
a  great  many  other  remarks  that  are  made  on  both 
Bides  of  the  question  thus  alluded  to. 

There  are  two  brief  Farewell  Addresses  from 
Joshua,  which  are  really  quite  remarkable,  as  might 
appear  if  we  had  time  to  analyze  them,  in  their 
finely  rhetorical  use  of  histoncal  narrative,  animated 
dialogue,  and  imaginative  and  papsionate  appeal 


ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 


The  brief  speech  of  Jotham  (Jud.  ix.)  is  note 
worthy,  for  although  a  purely  secular  speech,  it  offers 
Beyeral  points  of  suggestion  to  preachers.  (1)  He 
had  a  raaguilicent  pulpit,  standing  high  on  the 
steep  sides  of  Mt.  Gerizim — and  some  people  appear 
to    think   the   pulpit   a  great  matter  in  preaching. 

(2)  He  had  a  powerful  voice,  for  although  beyond 
the  reach  of  arrow  or  sling,  he  could  make  himself 
heard  far  beiow.  This  is  not  only  an  important  gift 
for  open-air  preaching,  but  it  will  be  indispensable 
for  all  preachers  if  we  are  to  have  many  more  of 
these  dreadful  Gothic  churches,  which  are  so  admir- 
able for  everything  except  the  proper  object  of  a 
church,    to   be   a    place  for   speaking   and    hearing. 

(3)  He    employed    a   striking    illustration,    a    fable. 

(4)  He  applied  the  illustration,  in  a  very  direct  and 
outspoken  manner,  without  fear  or  favor.  (5)  Ho 
ran  away  from  the  sensation  he  had  made. 

David  possessed  such  unique  and  unrivalled 
gifts  as  a  sacred  poet,  that  we  are  apt  not  to  think 
of  him  as  a  speaker.  But  in  sooth,  this  extraordinary 
man  seems  to  have  been  a  universal  genius,  if  ever 
there  was  one,  as  well  as  to  have  had  that  for  which 
Margaret  Fuller  used  to  sigh,    a    universal    experi- 


DAVID.  9 

ence.  And  his  speeclies  to  Saul  (1  Sam.  xxiv  and 
xx\i),  "with  his  reply  to  Abigail  (chap,  xxv),  do  seem 
to  me,  though  so  briefly  recorded,  to  exhibit  elo- 
quence of  a  very  high  order,  on  which  you  would 
find  it  instructive  and  stimulating  to  meditate.  "We 
ought  to  notice,  too,  the  singularly  skilful  and  ef- 
fective speech  addressed  to  David  by  Abigail.  Ita 
tact  and  sagacity  are  truly  feminine ;  some  of  the 
most  destructive  German  critics  have  admitted  that 
this  at  least  is  a  genuine  bit.  Persons  in  search  of 
Scripture  precedents  might  in  this  case  also  imagine 
themselves  to  find  one,  by  noting  that  we  have  here 
a  woman  speaking  in  public.  But  again  there  is  an 
obvious  reply,  that  this  was  not  really  a  public  ad- 
dress, but  a  petition  addressed  to  one  man,  and  that 
in  behalf  of  her  husband,  because  he  was  a  "fool"  and 
could  not  speak  for  himself.  The  address  of  Nathan 
to  David,  the  winning  and  touching  parable  with 
which  he  stirs  the  king's  feelings  and  awakens  his 
sense  of  right  and  wrong,  and  then  the  sudden  and 
pointed  application,  and  fierce  outpouring  of  the 
story  of  his  crimes,  pfrikcs  cvon  the  most  careless 
reader  as  a  model  of  reproof,  a  gem  of  eloquence. 
Solomon,  at  the  Dedication  of  the  Temple,  made 


10  ON   HISTORY    OF    rJlEACHIXQ. 

an  address  to  the  people,  and  then  a  prayer^  the 
first  reported  prayer  of  any  considerable  lengtli— 
a  prayer  strikingly  appropriate,  carefully  arranged, 
and  very  impressive. 

The  singular  book  of  Ecclesiastes  is  a  religious 
discourse,  a  sermon.  Its  mournful  text  is  often 
repeated,  "  Vanity  of  vanities,  all  is  vanity."  The 
discourse  should  be  read  as  a  whole,  or  listened  to 
while  another  reads,  its  successive  portions  ever 
coming  back,  like  a  certain  class  of  modern  ser- 
mons, to  the  text  as  a  melancholy  refrain,  sink- 
ing ever  deeper  into  your  heart  with  its  pain- 
ful but  wholesome  lesson,  till  at  last  the  ringing 
conclusion  is  reached,  *'  Fear  God,  and  keep 
his  commandments,  for  this  is  the  whole  of  man " 
— the  whole  of  his  duty  and  his  destiny,  the 
whole  of  his  real  pleasure,  the  whole  of  his  true 
manliness,  the  all  of  man.  I  think  we  ought 
never  to  repeat  "All  is  vanity"  without  adding 
Fear  God,  and  keep  his  commandments,  for  this 
is  aU." 

.    But  the  great  preachers  of  Old  Testament  timea 
were  the  Prophets.     You    are  no  doubt    all   aware 


THE   PROPHETS.  1\ 

that  the  New  Testament  miuistei*  corresponds  not 
at  all  to  tlie  Old  Testament  priest,  but  in  impor- 
tant respects  to  the  Old  Testament  prophet.  Alas ' 
that  the  great  majority  of  the  Christian  world  so 
early  lost  sight  of  this  fact,  and  tliat  many  are 
still  80  slow,  even  among  Protestants,  to  perceive 
it  clearly.  The  New  Testament  minister  is  not  a 
priest,  a  cleric — except  in  so  far  as  all  Christiana 
are  a  priesthood,  a  clergy,  viz.,  the  Lord's  heritage 
— he  is  a  teacher  in  God's  name,  even  as  the  '  Old 
Testament  prophet  was  a  teacher,  with  the  peculiar 
advantage  of  being  inspired.  You  also  know  that 
it  was  by  no  means  the  main  business  of  the 
prophets  to  predict  the  future — as  people  are  now 
apt  to  suppose  from  our  modern  use  of  the  woid 
prophet — but  that  they  spoke  of  the  past  and  the 
present,  often  much  more  than  of  the  future. 
The  prophets  reminded  the  people  of  their  sins, 
exhorted  them  to  repent,  and  instructed  them  in 
religious  and  moral,  in  social  and  personal  duties  ; 
and  when  they  predicted  the  future,  it  was  almost 
always  in  the  way  of  warning  or  encouragement^ 
as  a  motive  to  forsake  their  sins  and  serve  God, 
Ihe  predictive  element  naturally  attracts  the  chief 


12  ON    HISTORY    OF    PREACIIIKG. 

attention  of  Bible  readers  to-tLi}'.  and  yet  it  reality, 
as  things  stood  then,  it  was  almost  always  subor- 
dinate, and  often  comparatively  diminutive.  The 
prophets  were  preachers. 

The  earher  prophets  have  left  us  no  full  record 
of  their  inspired  teachings.  From  Samuel  we  have 
a  few  brief  addresses,  wise  and  weighty  ;  from  the 
great  Elijah,  several  single  sentences,  spoken  on 
great  occasions,  and  which  are  flashes  of  lightning 
in  a  dark  night,  revealing  to  us  the  whole  man  and 
his  surroundings.  Abrupt,  terse,  vehement,  fiery, 
these  utterances  are  volcanic  explosions  from  a  fire 
long  burning  within,  and  they  make  us  feel  the 
power,  the  tremendous  power,  of  the  inspired 
speaker.  It  is  true  of  every  born  orator,  that  in  his 
grandest  utterances  you  yet  feel  the  man  himself  to 
be  greater  than  all  he  has  said.  And  so  we  feel  as 
to  Elijah.  You  have  doubtless  observed  that  Elijah 
has  given  us  a  striking  example  of  the  use  of  ridi- 
cule in  sacred  discourse.  He  mocked  the  priests  of 
Baal,  before  all  the  people.  Idolatry  is  essentially 
absurd,  and  ridicule  was  therefore  a  fair  way  of  ex- 
posing it  In  like  manner,  all  irreligion  has  aspecta 
and  elements  that   are  absurd,  and   it  is   sometiuioi 


THE   PROPHETS.  IS 

nseful  (if  carefully  done)  to  show  this  by  irony  and 
ridicule.  In  the  book  of  Proverbs,  irreligion  is  con- 
Btantly  stigmatized  as  fuUy,  and  frequently  depicted 
with  the  keenest  sarcasm.  Slight  touches  of  irony 
and  scorn  are  also  observed  in  the  apostle  Paul. 
We  have  then  a  certain  amount  of  Scripture  exam- 
ple for  the  use  of  ridicule  in  preaching.  But  it 
should  be  a  sparing  use,  and  very  carefully  man- 
aged. 

Notice  now  the  prophets  from  whom  some  con- 
nected teachings  are  preserved  —  what  we  call 
loolcs  of  the  prophets. 

Some  of  these  were  highly  educated  men,  per- 
haps trained,  as  some  writers  think,  in  the  Theo- 
logical Schools  begun  by  Samuel,  *'the  schools  of  ^ 
the  prophets."  Yet  others  were  destitute  of  all 
6uch  training.  Amos  says  expressly  (vii,  14)  that 
he  was  "  no  prophet  nor  a  prophet's  son,"  i.  e.,  not 
trained  in  the  schools  as  one  of  the  so-called  **8on8 
of  the  prophets,"  but  that  he  was  a  shepherd  and 
gardener.  Accordingly,  many  of  his  illustrations 
are  rural,  and  they  are  fresh,  as  we  sometimes  find 
now  in  a  gifted  but  uneducated  country  preacher. 
The  prophets  frequently  quote  each  other,  as  is  woU 
1* 


14  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHINO. 

known,  and  besides  quotations,  they  often  exhibit 
such  similarity  in  leading  thoughts  and  favorite  ex- 
pressions as  seems  to  indicate  that  they  had  studied 
in  the  same  schools.  At  any  rate,  they  did  carefully 
study  the  inspired  discourses  of  their  predecessors 
and  contemporaries.     Take  now  a  few  examples. 

From  Jonah,  we  have  apparently  only  the  bur- 
den or  refrain  of  his  preaching  in  Nineveh,  and  can 
learn  very  little  in  the  rhetorical  sense,  but  we 
catch  right  impressive  glimpses  of  his  character 
and  feeling.  You  see  him  (1)  Shrinking  from  his 
task — as  has  been  since  done  by  many  a  preacher, 
young  and  old.  (2)  Desponding  when  the  excite- 
ment of  long-continued  and  impassioned  preaching 
had  been  followed  by  reaction ;  ready  to  take  un- 
healthy views  of  his  preaching  and  its  results,  of 
God  and  man,  of  life  and  of  death.  (3)  So  much 
concerned  for  his  own  credit — more,  in  that  morbid 
hour,  than  for  the  welfare  of  man  or  the  glory  of 
God. 

The  most  eloquent  of  all  the  prophets,  the 
one  from  whom  most  can  be  learned  as  to  preach- 
ing, is  obviously  Isaiah.  Isaiali  was  the  very  oppo- 
ijite  of  Amos,  the  shepherd  and  gardener.     lie  lived 


I8AIAH.  15 

at  court  during  several  reigns,  and  in  that  of  Ile/.e* 
kiah  was  high  in  influence,  lie  was  a  highly  edu 
cated  man,  a  man  of  refined  taste,  and  singular 
literary  power  and  skill.  He  enjoyed  in  the  best 
sense  of  that  now  often  misused  term,  the  advan- 
tage of  Culture,  with  all  its  light  and  its  sweetness. 
His  writings,  like  all  the  other  inspired  books,  take 
their  literary  character  from  the  natural  endow- 
ments, educational  advantages,  and  social  condition, 
of  the  man.  They  exhibit  an  imperial  imagination, 
controlled  by  a  disciplined  intellect  and  by  good 
taste.  This  imagination  shows  itself  in  vivid  and 
rapid  description,  as  well  as  in  imagery.  The  care- 
ful and  loving  study  of  Isaiah  has  educated  many  a 
preacher's  imagination  to  an  extent  of  which  he 
was  by  no  means  conscious,  and  few  things  are  so 
important  to  an  orator  as  the  real  cultivation  of 
imagination.  True,  the  book  of  Isaiah  presents 
the  poetic  oftener  than  the  strictly  oratorical  use  of 
this  faculty.  But  the  two  shade  into  each  other.; 
and  we  also,  when  we  become  greatly  excited,  and 
our  hearers  with  us,  do  naturally  use  in  speaking 
Buch  imaginative  conceptions  and  expressions  as  gen- 
erally belong  only  to  poetry     In  Part  I  of  the  book 


16  ox   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

of  le.'iiah  the  oratorical  element  very  distinctly  prfr" 
dominates — it  is  direct  address,  aiming  at  practi* 
cal  results  in  those  who  hear.  Sometimes  the  style 
even  sinks  into  quiet  narrative,  but  oftener  it  rises 
into  passionate  appeal.  And  in  Part  II  (from  the 
40tli  chapter  on),  the  orator  is  lost  in  the  poet. 
The  prophet's  soul  is  completely  carried  away  by  im- 
agination and  passion,  till  we  have  no  longer  an 
inspired  orator  directly  addressing  us,  but  a  rapt 
seer,  bursting  into  song,  pouring  forth  in  rhythmical 
strains  his  inspired  and  impassioned  predictions.  He 
is  like  the  angel  that  appeared  to  the  shepherds, 
whose  message  soon  passed  into  song.  Besides  the 
yet  higlier  blessings  which  have  come  to  the  world 
from  the  devotional  and  practical,  the  predictive 
and  theological  contents  of  this  grand  prophet's 
writings,  who  can  estimate  how  much  he  has  done 
m  training  servants  of  God  for  the  highest  and 
truest  forms  of  religious  eloquence  I 

Jeremiah,  whom  the  Jews  of  our  Lord's  time 
regarded  as  perhaps  the  greatest  of  the  prophets, 
has  in  modem  times  been  much  misunderstood,  the 
popular  term  "jeremiad "representing  him  as  a  dole- 
(q1  and  weak  lamenter,  like  some  of  the  "weeping 


JEKEMIAH.  17 

preachers"  we  accasionally  see,  whose  chief  cap* 
city  seems  to  lie  in  the  lachrymal  organs.  But  Jer« 
emiah  uttered  his  "Lamentations"  upon  such  great 
and  mournful  occasion  as  might  make  the  strong- 
est man  weep,  if  truly  patriotic  and  deeply  pious. 
And  his  discourses,  like  his  personal  history,  recall 
no  tearful  weakling,  hut  a  statesman  and  preacher 
of  strong  character  and  intense  earnestness,  tender 
in  pity  but  resolute  of  purpose.  Such  a  man's 
bursts  of  passionate  grief  are  a  mighty  power  in  elo- 
quence. Jeremiah  is  also  an  example  in  the  way  of 
preaching  unwritten  discourses,  and  then,  by  divine 
direction,  gathering  them  up  into  a  book,  with  the 
hope  of  thus  renewing  and  deepening  their  impres- 
sion on  the  popular  mind  (xxxvi,  2,  3). 

Among  the  other  prophets  I  can  only  say  a  word 
as  to  Ezekiel.  His  high-wrought  imagery  has  little 
power  to  develop  our  imagination  (compared  with 
Isaiah),  because  mainly  very  far  removed  from  our 
modes  of  thought  and  feeling.  But  as  to  the  spirit 
of  the  preacher  he  offers  us  singularly  valuable  in- 
struction. E.  g.,  "And  go,  get  thee  unto  the  chil- 
dren of  thy  people,  and  speak  unto  them  and  tell 
them  Thus   saith  the  Lord  Jehovah,  whether   they 


18  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

will  hear,  or  whether  they  will  forbear."  **  When  ) 
Bay  unto  the  wicked,  0  wicked  (man),  thou  shalt 
surely  die ;  if  thou  dost  not  speak  to  warn  the 
wicked  from  his  way,  that  wicked  man  shall  die 
in  his  iniquity ;  but  his  blood  will  I  require  at 
thine  hand."  Nor  are  there  any  sadder  words  in 
all  the  Bible  for  a  preacher,  any  that  more  touch- 
ingly  appeal  to  a  common  and  mournful  experience, 
than  the  following:  "And  they  come  unto  thee  as 
the  people  cometh,  and  they  sit  before  thee  as 
my  people,  and  they  hear  thy  words,  but  they  will 
not  do  them :  for  with  their  mouth  they  show 
much  love,  but  their  heart  goeth  after  their  covet- 
ousness.  And  lo,  thou  art  unto  them  as  a  very 
lovely  song  of  one  that  hath  a  pleasant  voice,  and 
can  play  well  on  an  instrument  :  for  they  hear  thy 
words,  but  they  do  them  not,"  Alas  1  how  often 
still,  they  come  and  hear,  they  are  entertained  and 
pleased,  they  go  off  with  idle  praises,  and  that  is 
aU! 

We  cannot  stop  to  speak  of  Ezra,  and  hia 
grand  expository  discourse  "from  the  morning 
until  midday ; "  nor  of  Malachi,  with  his  sharp  com. 
mon  sense,  and  his  home-thrusts  of  question  and  aik 


JOHN   THE    BAPTIST.  19 

Bwer;  nor  of  that  curious  production  of  the  Inter- 
biblical  period  called  the  4th  Book  of  Maccabees,  reallj 
a  Bort  of  sermon  by  a  Jew  who  had  become  a  Stoic 
philosopher ;  nor  of  much  else  that  might  have 
some  interest — for  we  must  come  at  once  to  the 
New  Testament. 

John  the  Baptist,  the  herald  of  Messiah's  ap- 
proach, presents  several  good  lessons  as  to  preach- 
ing. Consider  (1)  His  fearlessness.  The  Pharisees 
and  Sadducees  represented  the  culture  and  wealth, 
the  best  social  respectability  and  religious  reputation 
of  the  time,  and  yet  when  their  conduct  de- 
manded it,  he  boldly  called  them  a  '  brood  of 
vipers.'  He  was  braver  than  Elijah,  who  faced 
Ahab  but  was  so  frightened  by  one  threatening 
message  from  Jezebel  that  he  ran  the  whole  length 
of  the  land,  and  a  day's  journey  into  the  desert, 
and  wanted  to  die ;  while  the  new  Elijah  declared 
Herodias  an  adulteress,  though  he  knew  her  char- 
acter and  must  have  foreseen  her  relentless  wrath. 
(2)  His  humility — always  turning  attention  away 
from  himself  to  the  Coming  One,  testifying  of  him 
on  every  occasion,  willing  to  decrease  that  he  might 


ON    UrSTOUY    OF    PKEACHIXG. 

increase.  (3)  His  practicaluess.  He  brought  a  grand 
and  thrilling  announcement,  but  brought  also  a 
practical  injunction,  for  which  it  was  to  be  the 
motive.  "The  reign  of  heaven  has  come  near — 
therefore  repent."  And  you  have  noticed  his  re- 
markable directions  in  Luke  iii,  to  the  people  at 
large,  to  the  publicans,  to  the  soldiers,  indicating 
to  each  class  its  characteristic  fault,  hitting  the 
n»il  on  the  head  at  every  blow.  (4)  His  striving 
after  immediate  results.  Ho  did  not  say,  go  off 
and  think  about  it,  and  in  the  course  of  time  you 
may  come  to  repentance ;  he  said,  repent  now, 
profess  it  now,  and  show  it  henceforth,  by  fruit 
worthy  of  repentance.  (5)  His  use  of  a  ceremony 
to  reinforce  his  preaching,  and  exhibit  its  results 
— a  ceremony  so  solemn  to  those  receiving  it,  so 
impressive  to  the  spectators.  Many  a  prophet  had 
preached  that  men  should  repent,  i.  e.,  should  turn 
from  their  sins,  many  had  enforced  the  exhortation 
by  predicting  the  coming  of  Messiah  (though  they 
could  not  declare  it  to  be  certainly  near),  but 
here  was  a  striking  novelty ;  this  prophet  bade 
thom  receive,  and  at  Ms  hands,  a  m^st  thorough 
purification,    in    token    that    they   did    repent,  and 


JOHN    THE    BAPTIST.  21 

<]id  wish  to  be  subjects  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
This  striking  and  novel  ceremony  gave  name, 
among  all  the  people,  to  the  man  and  his  min- 
istry. John  the  Baptizer,  he  was  universally 
called,  as  we  see  from  the  fact  that  he  is  so 
named  in  the  Gospels  and  Acts,  and  in  Josephus 
too.  And  when  Jesus  in  the  last  week  of  his 
ministry  asked  the  chief  priests  and  scribes  a 
question  about  John,  he  did  not  say,  the  preach- 
ing of  John — nor,  the  ministry  of  John — noj-,  the 
work  of  John— but,  "the  baptism  of  John,  was  it 
from  heaven,  or  of  men  ?"  That  represented  to  the 
people  his  whole  mission.  Now  apart  from  all  its 
significance  in  other  respects,  we  can  see  that  this 
ceremony  had  an  important  bearing  on  his  preach- 
ing, as  picturing  what  the  preaching  demanded, 
and  as  an  appropriate  action  by  which  the  people 
promptly  set  forth  tlie  effect  which  the  preaching 
had  produced  on  them.  Many  of  the  measures  em- 
ployed now,  by  which  hearers  may  show  that  they 
are  impressed,  and  profess  their  purposes,  are  but 
appeals,  more  or  less  wise,  to  these  same  princi- 
ples of  human  natu/e  to  which  John's  baptisnj 
appealed. 


22  ox    HISTORY    OF    rREACHlNQ. 

The  central  figure  of  Scripture,  for  our  preeeni 
purpose  as  in  all  other  respects,  is  the  Saviour  himself. 
"We  can  but  touch  a  few  of  the  many  points  that 
here  present  themselves.  Our  Lord  as  a  Preacher, 
is  a  topic  that  has  waited  through  all  the  ages  for 
thorough  treatment,  and  is  waiting  still. 

(1)  Every  one  observes  that  as  a  preacher  our 
Lord  was  authoritative.  You  know  that  the  tone 
of  the  ordinary  Jewish  teachers  at  that  time  was  quite 
different  from  this.  If  some  question  was  under 
discussion  in  synagogue  or  theological  school,  an 
aged  man  with  flowing  white  beard  and  tremulous 
voice  would  say  "When  I  was  a  boy,  my  grand- 
father who  was  a  Kabbi  often  told  me  how  R. 
Nathan  Bar  Tolmai  used  to  say — so  and  so."  For 
them  nothing  was  weiglity  till  sanctified  by  anti 
quity,  nothing  could  be  settled  save  by  the  accumu 
lation  of  many  ancient  opinions.  But  here  came  a 
teacher  who  spake  'as  one  having  authority,'  who 
continually  repeated,  *  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said 
to  the  ancients,  but  /  say  to  you;'  in  a  way  which 
no  one  could  think  of  calling  egotism,  which  all 
recognized  as  the  tone  of  conscious  and  true  author- 
ity.    Of  course  our  Lord  was  unique  in  this  rospecl, 


OUK    LORD    AS   A    PREACHETi.  2S 

but  in  truth  every  preacher  who  is  to  accomplish 
much  must,  in  his  manner  and  degree,  speak  with 
authority.  And  do  you  ask  how  we  may  attain  this  ? 
For  one  thing,  by  personal  study  of  Scripture. 
What  you  liave  drawn  right  out  of  the  Bible,  by 
your  own  laborious  examination,  you  will  uncon- 
sciously state  with  a  tone  of  authority.  Again,  by 
personally  systematizing  the  teachings  of  Scripture, 
or  at  any  rate  carefully  scrutinizing  any  proposed 
system  in  every  part  before  accepting  it,  so  that  you 
feel  confident,  as  a  matter  of  personal  conviction, 
that  it  is  true.  Further,  by  personal  experience 
of  the  power  of  the  truth.  And  in  general,  by  per- 
sonal character.  And  the  authority  drawn  from 
all  these  sources  will  be  every  year  augmented  by 
the  usefulness  already  achieved,  for  the  French 
proverb  is  here  profoundly  true,  "  There  is  nothing 
that  succeeds  like  success." 

(2)  I  shall  not  dwell  upon  the  originality  of  our 
liOrd's  preaching.  This  has  been  sufficiently  treated 
by  various  popular  writers.  In  fact,  I  think  they 
have  insisted  too  much  on  this  point,  and  I  prefer 
to  urge, 

(3)  That    although    so   original,  he    brought  hii 


t4  ON    HISTORY    OF    TREACHINGL 

teachings  into  relation  to  the  common  mind.  He  did 
not  startle  his  hearers  with  his  originality,  but  em- 
ployed current  modes  of  thought  and  expression. 
E.  g.,  The  Golden  Eule  was  not  wholly  new  tc 
the  world.  Confucius,  Isocrates  and  others  had 
taught  the  negative  side  of  it ;  our  Lord  states  it 
as  a  positive  precept,  thus  making  the  rule  much 
more  comprehensive,  and  more  widely  important. 
Moreover,  the  essential  principle  was  really  con- 
tained in  Lev.  xLs,  18.  So  the  Golden  Eule  wag 
not  presented  as  something  absolutely  new.  Again, 
the  thought  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God  was  not 
alien  to  the  heathen  mind,  and  was  sometimes  taught 
in  the  Old  Testament.  Christ  brought  it  out  clearly, 
and  made  the  thought  familiar  and  sweet.  Further- 
more, he  taught  much  that  had  to  be  more  fully  de- 
veloped by  the  apostles ;  since  men  could  not  under- 
stand any  full  account  of  certain  doctrines  till  the 
facts  upon  which  they  were  to  rest  had  taken  place — 
for  example,  atonement  and  intercession.  And  he 
acted  upon  the  same  principle  in  his  mode  of  stating 
things.  He  used  proverbs  and  other  current  modea 
of  expression.  He  drew  illustrations  entirely  from 
things  familiar    with  his   hearers.     Ani   what   they 


OUE    LORD    AS   A    PEEACHER.  9ft 

could  not  then  understand  he  stated  in  para- 
bles, which  might  be  remembered  for  future  reflec- 
tion. 

I  repeat,  then,  that  our  Lord'  tempered  his  ori- 
ginality, so  as  to  keep  his  teacliings  within  reach 
of  the  common  mind.  If  you  are  teaching  a  child, 
you  do  not  present  thoughts  entirely  apart  from  and 
above  the  child's  previous  consciousness ;  you  try 
to  link  the  new  thoughts  to  what  the  child  has 
thought  of  before.  Thus  wisely  did  our  Lord  teach 
the  human  race.  But  unreflecting  followers  have 
felt  bound  to  insist  that  his  ethical  as  well  as  his 
theological  teachings  were  absolutely  original ;  and 
superficial  opposers  have  imagined  they  were  detract- 
ing from  his  honor  when  they  showed  that  for  the 
most  part  he  only  carried  farther  and  lifted  higher 
and  extended  more  widely  the  views  of  ethical 
truth  which  had  been  dimly  caught  by  the  univer- 
Bal  human  mind,  or  had  at  least  been  seen  by  the 
loftiest  souls.  What  they  make  an  objection  is  a 
part  of  the  wisdom  of  our  Lord's  preaching. 

(4)  His  teachings  were  to  a  great  extent  contro- 
versial,  polemical.  He  was  constantly  aiming  at 
some  error  or  evil  practice  existing  amoTJg  hii 
9 


26  ON   HISTORY   OP   PREACHING. 

hearers.  You  remember  at  once  how  this  principle 
pervades  the  entire  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  His 
strong  words  as  to  wealth  and  poverty  were  ad- 
dressed to  the  Jews,  who  beheved  that  to  be  rich 
was  a  proof  of  God's  favor,  and  to  be  poor  was 
a  sure  sign  of  his  displeasure.  **  No  man  can 
come  to  me  except  the  Father  which  sent  me  draw 
him, "  was  said  to  the  fanatical  crowd  who  imagined 
they  were  coming  to  him  and  following  him  because 
they  were  gaping  at  his  miracles  and  delighted  to 
get  food  without  work.  Like  examples  abound.  In 
fact,  there  are  very  few  of  his  utterances  that  have 
not  a  distinctly  polemical  character,  aimed  at  his 
immediate  hearers ;  and  we  must  take  account  of 
this,  as  affecting  not  the  principles  but  the  mode 
of  stating  them,  or  we  shall  often  fail  to  make 
exact  and  just  interpretation  of  his  teachings.  The 
lesson  here  as  to  our  own  preaching  is  obvious, 
though  very  important.  Truth,  in  this  world  op- 
pressed with  error,  cannot  hope,  has  no  right,  io 
keep  the  peace.  Christ  came  not  to  cast  peace  upon 
the  earth,  but  a  sword.  We  must  not  shrink  from 
antagonism  and  conflict  in  proclaiming  the  gospel, 
publicly  or  privately ;  though  in  fearlessly  maintain* 


OCR  LORD   AS   A    PREACHER.  27 

ing  this  conflict  we  must  not  sacrifice  courtesy,  oi 
true  Christian  charity. 

(5)  Our  Lord's  frequent  repetitions  are  remark- 
able and  instructive.  I  shall  mention  some  exam- 
ples, of  course  not  giving  mese  parallel  accounts 
from  the  different  Evangelists  of  the  same  occasion, 
but  cases  in  which  the  same  saying  is  recorded  aa 
repeated  on  different  occasions. 

The  Son  of  man  is  come  to  save  that  which 
was  lost,  was  spoken  twice,  Matt,  xviii,  ll;Lukexix, 
10.  If  ye  have  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed, 
etc.  (3),  Matt,  xvii,  20 ;  xxi,  21  ;  Luke  xvii,  5. 
Whosoever  shall  confess  me,  etc.  (3),  Matt,  x,  32  ; 
Luke  xii,  8  ;  ix,  26.  He  that  finds  his  life  shall 
lose  it,  etc.,  (4),  Matt,  x,  38-9  ;  xvi.  24-5  ;  Luke 
xvii,  33  ;  John  xii,  25.  Take  up  his  cross  and 
follow  me  (4),  Matt.  x.  38  ;  xvi,  24  ;  Luke  xiv,  27 ; 
Mark  x,  21.  "Whosoever  exalteth  himself  shall  be 
abased,  etc.  (3),  Matt,  xxiii,  12  ;  Luke  xiv,  11  ;  xviii, 
14.  Except  ye  become  as  little  children,  etc.  (2), 
Matt,  xviii.  3  ;  xix,  14 ;  and  other  modes,  bcside3 
these  two,  of  inculcating  the  same  lesson  of  humil- 
ity (2),  Matt.  XX,  26  ;  Jo.  xiii,  13  ff.  (comp.  Luke 
xxii,  24,  ff.) 


''i'S  ON   HISTORY    OF    PREACHING. 

The  eeryant  is  not  greater  than  his  lord  (4), 
Matt.  X.  24 ;  Luke  vi.  40 ;  John  xiii,  6,  and  xr, 
20,  where  he  refers  to  the  fact  that  he  had  told 
thtjm  this  before.  In  two  other  cases,  John  xiii, 
33  (comp.  vii.  34 ;  viii.  21),  and  x,  26,  he  speaks 
of  having  before  told  them  what  he  is  now  say- 
ing again. 

Where  I  am,  there  shall  also  my  servant  be 
(3),  John  xii,   26 ;  xiv,    3  ;   xvii,    24. 

To  these  examples  of  short  sayings  (and  there 
are  others)  add  the  fact  that  considerable  portions 
of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  as  given  by  Mat- 
thew, are  also  given  by  Matthew  and  the  other 
Synoptics  as  spoken  on  other  occasions.  JS.  g.,  The 
remarkable  exhortation  to  take  no  thought,  etc.,  ten 
verses  of  Matt,  vi,  is  reproduced  with  slight  altera- 
tion in  Luke  xii,  the  former  in  Galilee,  the  latter 
probably  long  afterwards,  and  in  Judea  or  Perea. 
The  Lord's  Prayer,  Matt,  vi,  9-13,  was  given  on  a 
later  occasion,  Luke  xi,  2-4,  in  a  greatly  shortened 
form  (according  to  the  correct  text),  but  with  all 
the  leading  thoughts  retained.  So  likewise  the  in- 
structions to  the  70  disciples  (Luke  x,  1,  ff.)  closolj 
resemble  those  previously   given  to  the  twelve  apos* 


OUR  LORD    AS   A    PREACHER.  3ft 

ties  (Matt.  X,  5,  ff.)  The  lament  over  Jerusalem  was 
made  three  times,  and  our  Lord  foretold  his  death 
to  hv.  disciples  five  times.  The  parable  of  the  pounds 
(Luke  xix.)  was  reproduced  a  few  days  afterwards 
in  the  parable  of  the  iale7its  (Matt,  xxv.),  with 
only  some  special  features  omitted. 

There  are  numerous  other  examples.  And  that 
so  many  should  occur  in  the  four  extremely  brief 
memoirs  we  have,  the  fourth,  too,  being  almost  en- 
tirely different  from  the  others,  is  very  remarkable. 
These  repetitions  may  for  the  most  part  be  classified 
as  follows  :  (1)  Different  audiences,  being  similar  in 
condition  and  wants,  needed  some  of  the  same 
lessons.  (2)  Some  brief,  pithy  sayings  would  natu- 
rally be  introduced  in  different  connections.  (3) 
Some  lessons  were  particularly  hard  to  be  learned, 
as  humility,  cross-bearing,  etc.;  and  so  as  to  the 
great  difficulty  the  twelve  had  in  believing  that  the 
Messiah  was  really  going  to  be  rejected  and  put 
to   death. 

And  what  instruction  do  we  find  for  ourselves 
in  this  marked  feature  of  our  Lord's  preaching  I 
Here  was  the  wisest  of  all  teachers ;  in  him  was  na 
poverty  of  resources,  no  shrinking  from  mental  exer 


30  ON    HISTORY    OP   PREAOHIlfG. 

tion.  He  must  ha^e  repeated  becauBC  it  was  best 
to  repeat.  Freshness  and  variety  are  very  desirable, 
no  doubt ;  but  the  fundamental  truths  of  Christi- 
anity are  not  numerous,  and  men  really  need  to 
have  them  often  repeated.  And  many  preachers, 
carried  away  by  the  tendencies  of  the  present  age, 
our  furious  19th  century,  when  the  chief  reading  of 
most  people  is  newspapers  and  books  called  emphat- 
ically novels,  and  the  Kacvdrepdv  n  of  the  lounging  Athe- 
nians pales  before  the  eagerness  with  which  we 
rush  to  bulletin  boards  to  catch  the  yet  later  news 
that  has  just  girdled  the  world, — many  preachers  go 
wild  with  the  desire  for  novelty  and  the  dread  of 
repetition,  and  fall  to  preaching  politics  and  news, 
science  and  speculation,  anything,  everything,  to 
he  fresh.  Let  the  example  of  the  Great  Preacher 
be  to  us  a  rebuke,  a  caution,  a  comfort.  A  preacher 
should  be  a  living  man,  and  strive  to  get  hold  of 
his  contemporaries  ;  yet  nearly  all  of  the  good  that 
preachers  do  is  done  not  by  new  truths  but  by  old 
truths,  with  fresh  combination,  illustration,  appli- 
cation, experience,  but  old  truths,  yea,  and  cften 
repeated  in  similar  phrase,  without  apology  an  3 
without  fear. 


OUR   LORD    AS    A    PREACHER.  31 

(6)  There  is  no  real  conflict  with  all  this  when 
we  add  :  Consider  the  wonderful  variety  of  oui 
Loni's  methods  of  teaching.  Variety  as  to  place. 
He  preached  in  synagogues,  courts  of  the  temple, 
private  houses ;  in  deserts,  on  the  mountain  side, 
by  the  lake  shore,  from  the  boat ;  to  crowds,  or  to 
single  persons ;  anywhere,  everywhere.  Variety,  too, 
as  to  occasion.  Some  of  his  discourses  were  delib- 
erately undertaken,  it  would  seem,  with  reference 
to  certain  conjunctures  in  his  ministry,  as  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount,  the  instructions  preceding  the 
Mission  of  the  Twelve  (Matt,  x),  "the  discourse  on 
the  Mount  of  Olives,  the  Farewell  Address  to  his 
disciples,  etc.  But  most  of  them  appear  to  have 
been  suggested  at  the  moment,  by  particular  events 
and  circumstances,  as  the  visit  of  Nicodemus,  the 
woman  coming  to  Jacob's  well,  the  message  of  John 
the  Baptist,  the  application  of  the  rich  young  man, 
the  story  of  the  Galileans  whom  Pilate  had  slain, 
etc. 

And  variety  as  to  modes  of  stating  truth.  He 
employed  authoritative  assertion,  arguments  of  many 
kinds,  explanation,  illustration,  appeal  and  warn- 
ing.    He  also  used  striking  paradoxes  and  hyperbol 


32  ox   HISTORY    OF    PREACHING. 

ical  expressions  to  wake  np  his  hearers,  and  mak« 
them  listen  and  remember  and  think,  e.  g.,  "Who- 
soever shall  smite  thee  on  thy  riglit  cheek,  turn  to 
him  the  other  also."  Let  us  pause  a  moment,  and 
consider.  Many  persons  have  been  perplexed  by 
this  saying  of  our  Lord,  many  have  misunderstood 
it,  but  one  thing  is  certain,  no  one  ever  forgot  it, 
when  once  read  or  heard,  and  no  one  ever  failed  to 
reflect  that  it  stands  in  the  strongest  antagonism  to 
our  natural  feelings  of  resentment  and  revenge. 
Now  remember.  Our  Lord  was  for  the  most  part  a 
street  preacher  and  a  field  preacher.  He  had  to 
gather  his  audiences  and  hold  them,  to  awaken  their 
minds,  to  lodge  some  leading  and  suggestive  truths 
permanently  in  their  memory.  When  we  recall 
these  conditions  of  his  teaching,  together  with  the 
fact  that  many  of  his  hearers  were  indifferent  a  id 
not  a  few  were  hostile,  we  may  perceive  why.  b.e 
should  have  somewhat  frequently  used  what  we  may 
fairly  call  extravagant  hyperboles,  sayings  which 
will  mislead  if  taken  literally,  but  which  under- 
stood as  they  were  intended  are  in  an  unrivalled 
degree  instructive  and  suggestive,  sure  to  be  remem* 
xsred,  weighty  and  mighty. 


OUR    LOUT)   AS   A    PREACHiCR.  33 

In  thus  using  pithy,  and  paradoxical  or  hyper* 
bolical  statements,  our  Lord  was  suiting  himself 
to  the  customs  as  well  as  the  wants  of  his  hearers. 
There  are  scores  of  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon,  that  are 
really  of  the  same  character.  E.  g.,  what  does  this 
mean  ?  *  When  thou  sittest  to  eat  with  a  ruler, 
mark  well  what  is  before  thee  ;  and  put  a  knife  to 
thy  throat  if  thou  art  given  to  appetite'  (Prov. 
xxiii,  2).  Better  cut  your  throat  than  eat  greedily 
before  his  excellency.  And  bo  with  many  other 
sayings  of  the  uninspired  Jewish  teachers,  as  re- 
corded in  some  of  the  Rabbinical  books.* 

**  But  are  not  such  expressions  hard  to  inter- 
pret, and  likely  to  be  misunderstood  ? "  Yes,  they 
require  care,  breadth  of  view  and  sound  judgment 
to  interpret  them.  And  I  think  it  absolutely  neces- 
sary, if  we  would  interpret  aright  the  teachings  of 
our  Lord,  to  remember  that  he-  spoke  not  as  a  sci- 
entific lecturer  but  as  a  2^^6<^cher,  a  preacher  for 
the  most  part  to  the  common  people,  an  open-air 
preacher,  addressing  restless  and  mainly  unsympa- 
thizing   crowds.     In  fact  one   will  be  all   the  bettei 

*  M7  attention  was  called  to  this  last  fact  bj  my  colleague 
Dt.  Tot. 

2* 


M  ON    HISTORY    OF    PREACHIKO. 

prepared  to  intorjiret  these  discourses  if  he  has 
iiimgelf  had  experience  of  practical  preaching  under 
similar  conditions.  Some  of  our  Lord's  paradoxical 
and  hyperbolical  sayings  have  been  often  and  griev« 
ously  misunderstood.  Interpreting  tliem  literally, 
Bome  good  people  have  tried,  for  example,  to  re- 
frain from  all  self-defence,  to  give  to  all  beggars, 
etc.  ;  and  other  good  people,  seeing  that  these 
things  were  impracticable,  have  sadly  despaired  of 
living  in  any  respect  up  to  the  requirements  of 
him  who  has  so  earnestly  urged  us  to  hear  his 
sayings  and  do  them ;  while  many  opposers  have 
Bneeringly  said  that  the  morality  taught  by  Jesus 
is  impossible,  and  therefore  really  unwise.  Misun- 
derstood— yes,  I  suppose  our  Lord  has  been  worse 
misunderstood  than  any  other  teacher  that  evei 
spoke  to  the  human  race.  But  what  of  that  ? 
All  powerful  things  are  very  dangerous  if  improp 
erly  handled.  That  which  can  do  no  harm  though 
misused,  can  it  do  any  good  ?  Our  attempts  at 
usefulness  in  this  world  may  always  be  represented 
as  to  their  results  by  this  simple  algebraical  for- 
mula :  +  So  much  good  done — So  much  harm  done 
=:  So  much.     It  is  our    duty,   as  far     as  possible, 


OUR   LORD    AS    k    TREACHER.  38 

to  diminisli  the  harm  as  well  as  increase  the  good; 
but  ran  we  ever  reduce  the  harm  down  to  zero, 
wfinout  reducing  the  good  to  zero  too  ?  If  we  are 
too  painfully  solicitous  to  avoid  doing  harm,  we 
«hall  do  nothing. 

The  notions  of  our  "  sensation  preachers "  con- 
tain an  element  of  truth.  And  to  find  that  true 
and  good  and  mighty  something  which  they  grope 
after  in  darkness  and  do  not  reach,  we  have  but 
to  study  the  preaching  of  Jesus  Christ. 

(7)  I  add  but  a  word  as  to  his  tone  and  spirit. 
These  cannot  be  fully  analyzed,  but  we  must  seek 
to  imitate  them  as  far  as  we  can  apprehend,  or 
can  catch  by  sympathy.  We  must  meditate  on  hia 
perfect  fidelity  to  truth,  and  yet  perfect  courtesy 
and  kindliness ;  his  severity  in  rebuking,  without 
any  tinge  of  bitterness  ;  his  directness  and  simpli- 
city, and  yet  his  tact — wise  as  the  serpent,  with 
the  simplicity  of  the  dove ;  his  complete  sympathy 
with  man,  and  also  complete  sympathy  with  God 
— bringing  heaven  down  to  earth,  that  he  might 
lift  up  earth   to  heaven. 

And  so  in  him  we  see,  as  we  see  in  all  hia 
more  worthy  followers,  that  materials  of  preaching 


1/ 


86  ox    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING. 

are  important,  and  methods  of  preaching  are  im 
portant,  but  that  most  important  of  all  is  per 
Bonal  character  and  spirit. 

I  have  time  for  but  a  few  words  as  to  the 
preaching  of  the  Apostles.  I  regret  this,  because 
we  may  find  in  their  discourses  a  greater  number 
of  practical  lessons  as  to  preaching,  than  in  other 
parts  of  Scripture.  But  it  is  also  easier  to  find 
those  lessons  here  than  elsewhere,  and  one  who  la 
interested  in  the  matter  will  have  comparatively 
little  need  of  help. 

The  apostolical  Epistles  were  not  in  general  ex- 
pected to  be  read  by  all  or  by  many  of  those  to 
whom  they  were  sent,  but  were  written  addresses, 
designed  to  be  read  out  in  meeting,  and  listened  to. 
Most  of  them  are  really  written  sermons,  not  writ- 
ten to  be  read  by  the  author  himself,  but  sent  to 
some  distant  church  to  be  read  there  by  another 
person.  Especially  is  this  true  of  1  Corinthians, 
Galatians,  Romans,  Colossians,  and  the  Circular  let- 
ter or  address  which  we  call  Ephesians  ;  also  of  tha 
discourses  sent  out  by  James,  Peter,  Jude,  John* 
Most  of  all   is  it  true   of   the    epistle  or    discourse 


THE   APOSTLES.  ^ 

to  the  Hebrews,  which  has  every  n  ark  of  boiiig  a 
Bermon,  and  concerning  the  origin  of  which  I  de- 
cidedly prefer  the  theory  of  Clement  and  Origen, 
that  it  was  a  sermon  preached  by  iFaal,  and  re- 
ported by  some  other  person,  perhaps  by  Luke, 
who  has  reported  so  many  other  discourses  of  his 
in  Acts.  However  that  may  be,  it  is  clear  tha*; 
many  of  what  we  commonly  describe  as  epistles  are 
really  sermons.  Nearly  all  of  those  to  whom  they 
were  originally  addressed  got  their  knowledge  of 
them  not  by  reading  them  but  by  hearing  them 
read,  as  it  is  said  in  the  Apocalypse,  "Blessed  is 
he  that  readelh,  and  they  that  hear,"  etc.  It  is 
important  to  recall  this  fact  for  several  reasons, 
(1)  In  the  enthusiasm  which  is  now  rightly  and 
nobly  felt  for  popular  education,  there  is  danger 
of  our  imagining  that  the  ability  to  read  is  indis- 
pensable to  one's  being  a  Christian.  Certainly  it  is 
eminently  desirable  that  the  freedmen  of  the  South, 
for  example,  should  learn  to  read,  and  we  must  all 
labor  for  this ;  and  yet  some  of  them  are  not  only 
Bincero  but  somewhat  intelligent  Christians,  simpl} 
Dj  hearing  the  Bible  read,  us  among  the  earlj* 
Christians.     (2)  If    the    apostolical    discourses     weie 


58  ox    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING. 

originally  designed  to  be  read  aloud  to  congrega' 
tions,  do  they  not  err  who  suppose  that  there  is 
little  need  now  of  publicly  reading  the  Scriptures, 
because  *'  everybody, "  as  they  phrase  it,  can  now 
read  the  Bible  for  himself  ?  Still  is  the  saying 
true,  **  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that 
hear."  (3)  "What  we  call  the  Epistles  can  often 
be  better  understood  by  studying  them  as  dis- 
courses than  as  in  the  strict  sense  epistles.  And 
useful  lessons  can  be  drawn  from  them  as  to  the 
best  methods  of  preaching. 

Besides  these  great  discourses,  written  verbatim 
after  the  dictation  of  the  inspired  authors,  we 
have  in  Acts  brief  and  usually  condensed  reports 
of  other  discourses,  chiefly  addresses  by  Peter  and 
by  Paul.  From  all  these  there  is  really  much  to 
be  learned  as  to  methods  of  preaching.  Especially 
do  the  discourses,  both  in  Acts  and  in  the  so-called 
Epistles,  of  the  great  apostle  Paul,  furnish  a  rich 
field  iDi  homiletical  study. 

How  profitable  it  would  be  to  examine  nar 
rowly  his  argumentation,  as  in  Galatians,  Romans, 
Colossians^  Hebrews,  Also  to  study  liis  bursts  of 
pajisionate    feeling,   and    vehement    exhortations,   as 


PAUL.  8t 

in  2  Corinthians,  Romans,  Ephesians,  Hebrevi's. 
How  instructive  Avould  be  the  collection  and  clas- 
Eification  of  his  illustrations,  which  are  not  often 
drawn  from  nature  (as  in  James),  but  chiefly  from 
the  practical  life  of  men,  their  business,  their 
amusements,  etc.  And  his  style  is  singularly  rich 
in  rhetorical  lessons — a  style  consisting  not  in 
quietly  earnest  and  straightforward  talk,  like  practi- 
cal Peter,  and  not  poetic,  pictorial,  vivid  like  James, 
but  logic  set  on  fire — a  ceaseless  stream  of  argu- 
ment and  earnest  appeal,  often  swelling  into  a 
torrent  which  bears  everything  along,  confusedly, 
perhaps,  but  with  mighty  force,  resistlessly.  You 
see  in  the  various  addresses  and  epistles  of  Paul  the 
style  of  a  many-sided  man — here  a  Boanerges  in 
passionate  vehemence,  and  there  as  tender  as  a 
woman's  love — hesitating  not  to  break  sentences  in 
twain  by  sudden  bursts  or  digressions — piling  strong 
words  upon  each  other,  like  Ossa  upon  Pelion,  in 
the  struggHng  effort  to  reach  the  height  of  his 
great  argument,  to  give  fit  expression  to  his  swell- 
ing emotion — scorning  the  '  wisdom  of  words, '  the 
strained  and  artificial  energy  and  elegance  in  wliich 
the    degenerate    Greeks  of  the    day    delighted,  and 


40  ON   HISTORY    OF    PREACHING. 

yet  producing  without  apparent  effort  a  gem  ol 
literary  beauty  not  surpassed  in  all  the  world's  lit- 
erature, that  eulogium  upon  love,  which  blazes  like 
a  diamond  on  the  bosom  of  Scripture.  As  I  said 
of  Isaiah,  so  it  may  be  said  of  Paul,  that  thousands 
have  unconsciously  learned  from  him  how  to  preach. 
And  how  much  richer  and  more  complete  the  les- 
son may  be  if  we  will  apply  ourselves  to  it 
consciously    and   thoughtfully. 

One  point  as  to  the  great  apostle's  preaching  I 
must  not  omit  to  mention — the  striking  adaptation 
of  every  discourse  to  the  audience  and  the  occa- 
Bion.  You  have  noticed  that  in  the  synagogue  at 
Antioch  in  Pisidia  he  spoke  as  a  Jew  to  the  Jews, 
arguing  from  Scripture  and  from  their  national  his- 
tory. At  Lystra,  among  ignorant  and  barbarous 
idolaters,  he  utters  the  simplest  truths  of  natural 
religion,  while  at  Athens  those  same  truths  were 
broughw  out  with  varied,  profound  and  skilful  ar- 
gument, and  with  a  courtly  grace  of  expression 
which  came  spontaneously  to  the  lips  of  a  culti* 
vated  and  refined  man  in  addressing  such  an  audi- 
ence. Similar  examples  of  adaptation  are  seen  in 
the  great  series   of   Apologies,  before   the  fanatical 


PAITL.  41 

/ew8  who  had  been  trying  to  kill  him  in  tlie  tem- 
ple court,  before  the  Sanhedrim,  before  Felix  and 
Festus,  before  Agrippa,  and  to  the  Jews  at  Borne. 
No  one  of  all  the  apostle's  discourses  recorded  in 
Acts  -would  have  been  suitable  to  take  the  place 
of  any  other.  So  likewise  as  to  his  Epistles.  Think 
of  sending  Romans  to  Corinth,  or  Colossians  to 
Rome — and  so  of  the  rest. 

There  is  here  a  surpassingly  important  lesson 
for  preachers.  Every  discourse  ought  to  be  so  care- 
fully and  precisely  adapted  to  the  particular  audi- 
ence and  occasion,  that  it  would  not  suit  another 
occasion  or  audience  without  important  alteration. 
Very  rarely  is  it  allowable,  if  ever,  to  make  a  ser- 
mon so  general  that  it  will  suit  all  places  equally 
well,  for  then  it  does  not  exactly  suit  any  place. 
If  you  do  not  attempt  to  imitate  Paul  in  anything 
else  as  to  preaching,  be  sure  to  follow  his  exam- 
ple in  this — that  you  try  to  adapt  every  sermon 
to  that  time,  that  place,  that  people  ;  and  if  you 
repeat  it  elsewhere,  search  eagerly  beforehand  to 
find  out  at  least  som?  points  of  specific  adaptation 
to  the  new  occasion  and  congregation.  Even  though 
these    points    be    sometimes    very    slight  in    them 


«eJves,  yet  they  may  act  like  the  delicate  tendrils 
which  hold  the  vine  to  its  supports,  and  are  essen- 
tial to  its   fruitfulness. 

I  close  with  one  general  inquiry.  When  we  note 
how  many  specimens  of  eloquence  the  Scriptures 
present,  and  see  how  instructive  they  are,  even  upon 
a  hurried  glance,  are  we  to  conclude,  as  some  vir- 
tually maintain,  that  the  Art  of  Preaching  should 
be  learned  exclusively  from  the  Bible  ?  I  answer, 
No,  by  no  means.  Men  think  they  put  honor  upon 
the  Bible  by  maintaining  this,  and  by  insisting 
that  Homiletics  shall  be  regarded  as  essentially  dis- 
tinct from  Ehetoric.  In  like  manner  some  are  very 
unwilling  to  admit  that  Christian  sculpture  is  in- 
ferior to  that  of  the  ancient  Greeks  ;  and  I  remem- 
ber an  American  book  in  which  it  is  earnestly  con- 
tended that  the  model  of  the  Parthenon  must  have 
been  derived  from  Solomon's  temple — through  the 
Phenicians,  to  be  sure.  Justin  Martyr,  who  lived 
in  Palestine  less  than  a  century  after  the  crucifixion, 
told  Trypho  that  Jesus,  in  his  carpenter-life  at 
Nazareth,  made  ploughs  and  ox-yokes,  and  there  ia 
nothing  improbable  in  the  statement.     Would   yon 


CHRISTIAN   RHETORIC.  49 

Buppose  that  he  made  ploughs  of  a  new  pattern, 
f^eatly  better  than  those  in  use  there  before  ?  Wh^ 
ghould  he  not  introduce  all  our  modern  improTements 
in  ploughs,  yea,  and  all  those  of  the  ages  yet  to 
come  ?  You  answer,  our  Lord  came  into  the  world 
to  teach  moral  and  spiritual  truth,  and  not  to  intro- 
duce mechanical  inventions.  Precisely  so  as  to  archi- 
tecture, then,  and  sculpture,  and  all  the  arts,  in- 
cluding the  art  of  Rhetoric.  In  speaking,  our  Lord 
*rid  the  prophets  and  the  apostles  have  left  us  no- 
ble and  highly  instructive  examples,  from  which 
fie  ou|rLt  lovingly  to  learn.  But  they  emiiloyed 
lihe  vicihc<2s  common  in  their  time,  and  natural 
io  ths  Shcn:itic  races.  And  we  are  really  follow- 
ing chsir  eiuTii-piS,  in  the  spirit  of  it,  if  we  employ 
the  methods  be^'t  sjifed  to  the  Aryan  races,  and  tc 
modern  thought  ai^i  -rndsin  feeling. 


LECTURE  IL 

ON  PREACHING  IN  THE  EARLY  CHRISTIAN 
CENTURIES. 

The  ascension  of  our  Lord,  according  to  the 
most  probable  Chronology,  was  in  A.  D.  30.  Now 
in  A.  D.  430  was  the  death  of  Augustine,  the 
last  great  preacher  of  the  early  centuries.  TVe  thus 
have  a  period  of  exactly  four  centuries.  If  we 
divide  this,  the  year  230  will  fairly  represent  the 
life  and  work  of  Origen  (died  253),  who  forms  the 
transition  from  the  earlier  to  the  later  style  of 
Christian  preaching. 

We  have  first  to  deal,  then,  with  the  two  cen- 
turies from  30  to  230,  from  the  Ascension  to  tho 
time  of  Origen. 

For  the  greater  part  of  this  first  period,  we 
know  very  little  of  Christian  preaching,  after  the 
close  of  the  New  Testament  itself.  The  few  works 
that    remain    to    us     from    the    so-called    Apostolic 


SECOND    CENTURY.  45 

Fathers,  arc  related  to  preaching  just  as  were  the 
Epistles  of  tlie  inspired  Apostles,  They  are  let- 
ters, but  designed  to  be  read  in  public,  and  some 
of  them  showing  oratorical  feeling,  though  they 
have  not  the  oratorical  form.  Still  more  is  this 
true  of  Justin  Martyr,  particularly  in  his  Apologies ; 
you  feel  that  here  is  a  thoroughly  oratorical  nature. 
Ignatius,  Justin,  Polycarp,  must  have  been  vigor- 
ous, impassioned,  powerful  preachers ;  and  so  with 
some  of  the  other  "Apologists"  (besides  Justin), 
whose  writings  in  defence  of  Christianity  remain 
to  us.  But  from  none  of  them  does  anything  re- 
main that  could  be  called  a  sermon,  nor  from  any 
one  else  before  Origen,  excej'tt  two  small  fragments 
of  homilies  from  the  famous  Gnostic  Yalentinus 
(preserved  by  Clement  of  Alexandria),  which  are  of 
curious  interest,  but  not  homiletically  instructive. 
Irenseus  was  a  man  of  great  earnestness  and  force, 
but  not  even  in  the  references  to  his  lost  writ- 
ings is  there  any  mention  of  sermons.  The  writ- 
ings of  Tertullian  amply  show  that  he  was  9 
born  orator.  His  penetrating  insight  into  subjects, 
his  splendiJ  imagination,  his  overpowering  passion, 
the    torrent-like    movement    of    his    style,   heedless 


46  ox   IIISTOET   OF    PHEACHINO. 

of  elegance  and  of  grammatical  accuracy,  his  \erj 
exaggerations,  and  his  fiery  assaults  upon  his  an- 
tagonists, all  seem  to  show  the  man  born  to  be  a 
speaker.  A  lawyer  in  his  youth,  it  is  natural  to 
suppose  that  he  exercised  himself  much  in  oral 
Christian  teaching,  and  his  great  familiarity  with 
the  Bible  qualified  him  for  the  task.  But  none  of 
his  writings  apjiroach  the  form  of  a  sermon.  We 
should  not  even  know  from  his  own  works,  that 
he  ever  became  a  presbyter,  though  Jerome  states 
that  he  did. 

For  this  almost  entire  want  of  sermons  remain- 
ing from  the  first  two  centuries,  there  are  several 
reasons,  which  we  need  not  go  far  to  seek. 

'  The  preaching  of  the  time  was  in  general  quite 
informal.  Tlie  preacher  did  not  make  ^yovc,  dis- 
courses, but  only  duMag,  homilies,  that  is  conversa- 
tions, talks.  Even  in  the  fourth  century,  there  was 
still  retained,  by  some  out  of  the  way  congregationt, 
the  practice  of  asking  the  preacher  many  questions, 
and  answering  questions  asked  by  him,  so  as  t«» 
make  the  homily  to  some  extent  a  conversation. 
And  in  this  period  it  was  always  a  mere  famil 
iar  talk,  which    of   course  might   rise   into   dignity^ 


SECOXD   CEXTURY.  4") 

and  -,swell  into  passion,  but  only  in  an  informal 
way.  The  general  feeling  appears  also  to  have 
been  that  dependence  on  the  promised  blessing  oi 
the  Paraclete  forbade  elaborate  preparation  of  dis- 
courses. And  this  feeling  would  prevent  many 
from  writing  out  their  discourses  after  they  were 
spoken,  as  the  same  feeling  appears  to  have  pre- 
vented the  German  Anabaptists  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  many  American  Baptist  ministei's  a 
century  ago. 

But  we  must  by  no  means  imagine  there  waa 
but  little  preaching  during  the  two  first  centuries, 
because  no  sermons  remain.  In  fact  preaching  waa 
then  very  general,  almost  universal,  among  the 
Christians.  Lay-preaching  was  not  an  exception,  it 
was  the  rule.  Like  the  first  disciples  the  Christiana 
still  went  everywhere  preaching  the  word.  The 
notion  that  the  Christian  minister  corresponded 
to  the  Old  Testament  priest  had  not  yet  gained 
the  ascendency.  We  find  Irenseus  and  Tertul- 
lian  insisting  that  all  Christians  are  priests.  We 
learn  from  Eusebius  (History  VI.  19)  that  Origen, 
before  he  was  ordained  a  presbyter,  went  to  Pales- 
tine, and    was    invited  by  the    bishops  of    Csesai-ea 


4S  OK   HISTORY   OF   PREAOHIKQ. 

and  Jerusalem  to  "expound  the  sacred  Scripturet 
publicly  in  the  church. "  The  bishop  of  Alexan- 
dria, who  was  an  enemy  to  Origen,  condemned 
this,  declaring  it  unheard  of  "that  laymen  should 
deliver  discourses  in  the  presence  of  the  bishop." 
But  the  bishop  of  Jerusalem  pronounced  that  no- 
tion a  great  mistake,  appealing  to  various  examples. 
It  was  still  common  in  some  regions,  though  now 
unknown  in  others,  to  invite  laymen  who  coulc 
edify  the  brethren,  to  do  so ;  and  this  even  'rlian 
sacerdotal   feeling  was  growing  strong. 

In  these  first  centuries,  then,  almost  all  the  Chris- 
I  tians  preached.  Thus,  preaching  was  informal, 
and  therefore  unrecorded.  Even  of  the  presbyters 
at  that  time,  few  were  educated  or  had  much 
leisure  for  study.  And  when  some  able  and  schol- 
arly man  became  a  Christian,  however  he  might 
occupy  himself  with  profound  studies,  and  th* 
preparation  of  elaborate  works,  as  Justin  or  Cle- 
ment of  Alexandria,  Irenaeus  or  Tertullian,  yet 
when  he  stood  up  to  preach,  then  like  Faraday  in 
the  little  Sandemanian  chapel  in  London,  he  wculd 
lay  his  studies  aside  and  speak  impromptu,  with  the 
greatest  simplicity. 


SECOND   CENTURY.  4$ 

It  is  8  favorite  and  just  idea  of  recent  writers  on 
history,  that  tlie  historian  should  not  confine  him- 
self, as  was  so  long  common,  to  men  in  high  places, 
and  to  single  great  events,  but  should  try  to  re- 
produce the  life  of  the  many,  and  the  numerous 
forces  affecting  that  life,  and  gradually  preparing 
for  the  great  events.  This,  however,  can  never  be 
fully  done,  and  the  shortcoming  is  of  necessity  par- 
ticularly great  in  the  history  of  preaching.  Yet 
let  us  at  least  bear  in  mind  that  the  early  progress 
of  Christianity,  that  great  and  wonderful  progress 
to  which  we  still  appeal  as  one  of  the  proofs  of  its 
Divine  origin,  was  due  mainly  to  the  labors  of  ob- 
scure men,  who  have  left  no  sermons,  and  not  even 
a  name  to  history,  but  whose  work  remains  plain 
before  the  all-seeing  eye,  and  whose  reward  is  sure. 
Hail,  ye  unknown,  forgotten  brethren !  we  cele- 
brate the  names  of  your  leaders,  but  we  will  not 
forget  tliat  you  fought  the  battles,  and  gained  the 
victories.  The  Christian  world  feels  your  impress, 
though  it  has  lost  your  names.  And  we  likewise, 
if  we  cannot  live  in  men's  memories,  will  rejoice  at 
the  thought  that  if  we  work  for  God,  our  worli 
ihall  live,  and  we  too  shall  live  in  our  work,  ^ 


50  ON    HISTORY    OF   PREACHING. 

Aiid  not  only  are  these  early  labore/s  now  un 
icnown,  but  most  of  them  were  in  their  own  daj 
little  cared  for  by  the  great  and  the  learned,  most 
of  them  were  uneducated.  Throughout  the  first 
two  or  three  centuries,  it  continued  to  be  true  that 
not  many  wise  according  to  the  flesh,  not  many 
mighty,  not  many  noble,  were  called  to  be  Christian 
ministers  or  Christians  at  all.  It  was  mainly  the 
foolish  things,  weak  things,  base  things,  that  God 
chose.  And  what  power  they  had  through  the 
story  of  the  cross,  illuminated  by  earnest  Christian 
living  I  There  is  a  famous  passage  of  Chrysostom 
(Homily  xix.  on  the  Statues),  in  which  he  bestows 
generous  and  exuberant  eulogy  on  the  country 
preachers  around  Antioch,  many  of  whom  were 
present  that  day  in  his  church.  He  says,  in  his 
high-wrought  fashion,  that  their  presence  beautified 
tlie  city  and  adorned  the  church,  and  describes  them 
as  different  in  dialect  (for  they  were  Syrians),  bu' 
speaking  the  same  language  in  respect  of  faith,  a 
people  free  from  cares,  leading  a  sober  and  truly 
dignified  life.  He  says  they  learn  lessons  of  virtue 
and  8elf»-control,  from  tilling  the  soil.  "You  might 
Bee  each  of  them  now  yoking  oxen  to  the  plough, 


OKIGEN.  51 

and  cutting  a  deep  furrow  in  the  ground,  iit 
another  time  with  their  word  cleaning  out  sins 
from  men's  souls.  They  are  not  ashamed  of 
work,  but  ashamed  of  idleness,  knowing  that  idle- 
ness is  a  teacher  of  all  wickedness.  And  while  the 
philosophers  walk  about  with  conspicuous  cloak  and 
staff  and  beard,  these  plain  men  are  far  truer  jihi- 
losophers,  for  they  teach  immortality  and  judgment 
to  come,  and  conform  all  their  life  to  these  hopes, 
being  instructed  by  the  divine  writings.  " 

Not  only  in  the  first  centuries,  then,  but  in 
Chrysostom's  day  also,  there  were  these  uncultiva- 
ted but  good  and  useful  men ;  and  such  preachers 
have  abounded  from  that  day  to  this,  in  every  period, 
country  and  persuasion  in  which  Christianity  was 
mahing  any  real  and  rapid  progress. 

Our  first  period  is  divided  from  the  second  by 
the  work  of  the  celebrated  Origen,  probably  A.  D. 
186 — 253.  He  was  truly  an  epoch-making  man, 
in  Biblical  learning,  in  ministerial  education,  and 
in  homiletics.  Everybody  knows  what  an  impetus  he 
gave  to  Biblical  learning.  All  Christian  scholars 
in  the  next  two  centuries,  and  many  in  every  sub- 


52  ON    HlSTOltY    f»I-    Piir:ACHlNG. 

sequent  century,  drew  lar{/ely  from  the  vast  storei 
of  learning  gathered  in  his  great  works.  The  zeal* 
ous  studies  of  the  present  century  in  Text-criticism, 
present  Origen  as  facile  princeps  among  the  rath- 
ers  in  that  respect,  and  give  constantly  new  occa- 
sion to  admire  the  scholarly  accuracy  and  iron  dili- 
gence of  the  Adamantine  student.  lie  was  also 
the  gi-eat  educator  among  the  early  Christians.  For 
nearly  thirty  years,  beginning  when  a  precocious 
youth  of  seventeen,  he  was  chief  Oatechist  in  Alex- 
andria, or  as  we  should  say.  Theological  professor, 
aided,  after  a  time,  by  one  of  his  distinguished 
pupils.  And  when  banished  from  Alexandria,  and 
living  at  Cassarea  in  Palestine,  he  there  taught  as 
a  private  instructor,  but  with  students  from  distant 
lands,  and  with  great  eclat,  for  about  twenty  years 
more.  During  a  gi'cat  part  of  this  time,  from  youth 
to  age,  he  also  preaclted  every  day,  while  at  the 
same  time  laboring  over  his  varied  and  immense 
works,  so  large  a  portion  of  which  have  long  ago 
perished.  Some  glimpse  of  the  subjects  and  meth- 
ods of  study  in  his  theological  school,  we  shall  be 
able  to  get  before  we  close.  He  was  not  only  a  teach- 
er of  preachers,  but  also  a  teacher  of  teachers.     Ha 


ORIGEN.  53 

had  had  predecessors  in  Alexandria,  as  Clement  and 
his  teacher  Pantasnus,  but  it  was  Origen  that  made 
the  Alexandrian  school  the  chief  seat  of  Christian 
learning  for  many  generations  to  come.  And  riifl 
private  teaching  at  Caesarea  gare  occasion  for  the 
founding  of  a  public  school  there  by  the  famous 
Pamphilus,  the  friend  of  Eusebius. 

But  in  respect  to  methods  of  preaching  also, 
Origen  made  an  epoch.  As  to  interpretation  of 
Scripture,  he  dignified  and  appeared  to  justify  the 
practice  of  allegorizing.  It  is  an  utter  mistake  to 
say,  though  a  mistake  often  repeated,  that  he  was 
the  father  of  this  practice.  His  teacher,  Clement, 
gives  us  instances  of  it ;  Justin  Martyr  has  speci- 
mens as  wild  as  anything  in  Origen,  and  the  Epis- 
tle ascribed  to  Barnabas  contains  much  allegoriz- 
ing that  seems  to  us  absurd  and  contemptible.  Ju 
fact,  Origan's  great  master  in  this  respect  was 
Philo,  the  Alexandrian  Jew,  who  was  a  contem- 
porary of  our  Lord.  Origen  did  but  apply  to  the 
New  Testament,  and  to  the  Old  Testament  in  a 
Christian  sense,  those  methods  of  allegorizing  by 
which  Philo  had  made  the  Old  Testament  teach 
Platonic  and  Stoic  Philosoph%     Celsus,  the  shrewd 


64  ox    HISTOUY    or    I'ltEACIIl^^O. 

aiid  vigorous  unbeliever,  made  it  an  objection  that 
the  New  Testament  did  not  admit  of  allegorizing. 
Origen  resented  this  as  a  slander,  adducing  several 
passages  in  which  Paul  himself  had  used  allegory, 
and  doubtless  feeling  all  the  more  called  on  to 
show  by  his  own  allegorical  interpretations  that 
the  Christian  books  did  have  those  deep  allegori- 
cal meanings  which  the  Jews  claimed  for  their 
books,  and  the  Greeks  for  theirs.  Allegorizing  had 
long  been  the  rage  at  Alexandria.  Porph}Ty  pre- 
tended ^at  Origen  had  only  learned  it  from  the 
Greek  mysteries.  Philo  himself  did  but  carry 
out  more  fully  and  ably  the  method  of  Aristobu- 
lus,  his  predecessor  by  a  century  and  a  half.  Indeed, 
recent  Eg}'ptologists  tell  us  that  fifteen  centuriea 
before  Christ,  the  Egyptian  priests  were  disputing 
as  to  the  true  text,  and  allegorizing  the  statements, 
of  their  Book  of  the  Dead,  or  Funeral  Eites. 

But  while  Origen  by  no  means  originated  alle- 
gorizing, he  did  do  much  to  recommend  it,  by  pre- 
senting the  striking,  though  delusive,  theory,  that 
as  man  is  composed  of  body,  soul  and  spirit,  so 
Scripture  has  a  threefold  sense,  the  grammatical, 
Uie  moral,   and  the  spiritual,  and  also  by  actuaUj 


ORIGEN.      /  66 

working  out  a  spiritual  sense  for  a  great  pr^rt  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  with  perverse  and  absurd 
ingenuity.  In  this  way  he  injured  'preacMng:  Men 
who  held  to  a  deep,  esoteric  sense,  which  only  the 
few  could  understand,  who,  like  the  Gnostics,  re- 
garded themselves  as  a  sort  of  spiritual  aristocracy, 
would  not  only  neglect  to  bring  forbh  and  apply 
the  plain  teachings  of  Scripture,  but  they  habitually 
made  light  of  these  teachings,  and  cared  mainly 
for  such  hearers  as  could  soar  with  them  into  the 
''misty  mid-regions"  of  allegorizing.  Now  it  ia 
very  well  as  a  general  principle  that  we  should 
preach  with  some  reference  to  the  wants  of  the 
highly  cultivated,  and  should  deal  in  profound 
thought,  but  after  all  it  is  the  plain  truths  of  Scrip- 
ture that  do  the  chief  good,  to  cultivated  as  well 
as  uncultivated.  One  who  begins  to  regard  him- 
self as  distinctively  a  preacher  for  the  intellectual 
or  the  learned,  will  spoil  his  preaching  as  rapidly 
as  possible. 

At  a  later  prriod,  all  Christians  became  accus- 
tomed to  the  methods  of  allegorizing,  and  it  ceased 
for  the  most  part  to  be  an  esoteric  affair,  and 
became    almost    universal,    with    the    exception    of 


66  ON   HISTORY   OF    PREACHIXG. 

Chrysostom  and  his  associates,  in  all  the  subsequen* 
centuries  till  the  Reformation. 

But  Origen  did  good  in  teaching  men  to  bring 
out  the  grammatical  and  the  moral  sense,  though 
he  understood  these.  In  his  early  youth  a  teacher 
of  grammar  and  rhetoric,  he  had  a  feeling  for  lan- 
guage, an  exegetical  sense,  and  his  homilies  and  other 
works  form  the  first  examples  of  any  pains-taking 
explanation  of  Scripture,  or  approach  to  accurate 
exegesis. 

As  to  the  form  of  Christian  discourses,  he  first, 
BO  far  as  we  know,  made  them  discourses  indeed, 
and  not  a  mere  string  of  loosely  connected  observa 
tions,  dependent  for  their  connection  on  accideii- 
tal  suggestion  or  the  promptings  of  passion,  and  he 
first  made  series  of  homilies  on  entire  books.  This 
was  a  great  advance,  and  prepared  the  way  for  ii- 
ture  improvements.  Yet  still  the  homily  was  with- 
out unity  of  structure.  Origen  does  not  take  the 
fundamental  thought  of  the  passage,  and  treat  every 
verse  in  relation  to  that,  but  he  just  takes  clause 
after  clause  as  they  come,  and  remarks  upon  them 
m  succession.  Not  till  a  century  later  was  this 
fault    corrected,   and  only    partially    then.     In  fact 


OEIGEN.  57 

this  lack  of  unity  is  still  the  commonest  and  gravest 
fault  in  ordinary  attempts  at  expository  preaching. 
But  such  feeling  does  not  now  prevail,  and  it  is 
more  hurtful  now  than  formerly,  for  the  modern 
mind  demands  unity  in  all  discourse.  If  you  would 
Bucceed  in  expository  preaching,  let  every  such  sermon 
have  a  genuine  and  marked  unity. 

Origen's  fame  as  a  Biblical  scholar,  has  over 
shadowed  his  merits  as  a  preacher.  And  in  gen- 
eral the  exegetical  element  is  more  prominent  in 
his  homilies,  than  the  oratorical.  Yet  he  has  occa- 
aional  passages  that  are  truly  eloquent 

Our  second  period  of  two  centuries  is  from  A.  D. 
230  to  430,  or  from  Origen  to  Augustine.  This 
again  may  be  divided  into  two  parts,  for  the  year  330 
will  roughly  represent  to  us  the  time  of  Constan- 
tine.  Of  the  first  half,  from  230  to  about  330,  there 
is  comparatively  little  to  say,  but  the  last  of  our 
four  centuries  is  the  time  when  Christian  preach- 
ing springs  into  exuberant  growth,  and  blossoms  into 
glorious  beauty. 

From  the  time  of  Origen,  a  much  more  consid- 
erable portion  of  Christian  ministers  must  havo 
3* 


68  ON   HISTOET    OF   PREACHING. 

been  educated  men,  for  there  were  now  several  the 
ological  Bchools,  religious  libraries  began  to  be 
formed,  sermons  were  taken  down  in  short-hand 
and  circulated,  and  (though  the  persecutions  had 
not  yet  ended)  there  was  an  increasing  number  of 
intelligent  people  among  the  Christians,  who  would 
appreciate  and  desire  an  educated  ministry.  And  yet 
almost  no  sermons  of  that  period  are  now  in  existence. 
The  celebrated  controversial  writer  Hippolytus, 
a  contemporary  of  Origen,  is  said  to  have  been  very 
eloquent.  One  homily  and  some  fragments  now 
remaining,  are  represented  as  showing  considerable 
oratorical  skill.  Gregory,  afterwards  called  Thau- 
maturgus,  to  distinguish  him  from  the  famous 
Gregories  of  later  times,  was  a  pupil  of  Origen,  and 
a  most  enthusiastic  admirer.  His  panegyric  on  Or- 
igen, delivered  when  leaving  the  theological  school, 
is  a  really  eloquent  production,  possessing  much  cu- 
rious interest.  But  the  few  extant  homilies  ascribed 
to  him  are  not  probably  genuine.  It  is  evident  that 
many  sermons  must  have  been  written  down  dur- 
ing this  period.  It  may  be  that  most  of  them  per- 
ished during  the  great  persecution  under  Diocletian, 
when  so  great  an  effort   was  made  to    destroy  aU 


THIRD   CENTURY.  &% 

Christian  writings.  In  the  West,  among  the  Latir- 
gpeaking  Christians,  we  still  find  no  sermons  at  all 
that  have  come  down  to  modern  times.  Cyprian, 
in  Carthage,  while  not  an  original  thinker,  but  an 
avowed  imitator  of  Tertullian,  had  yet  very  fine 
oratorical  gifts,  and  spent  his  early  life  as  a  popu- 
lar teacher  of  rhetoric.  The  style  of  his  writings 
is  very  pleasing,  but  he  left  no  sermons.  Novatian, 
the  heretic  at  Kome,  (with  whom  some  of  our 
Baptist  brethren  are  zealous  to  establish  a  de- 
nominational afl&nity,)  is  represented  by  Neander 
as  "  distinguished  for  clearness  of  Christian  knowl- 
edge .  .  .  and  for  a  happy  faculty  of  teaching," 
but  the  works  now  doubtfully  ascribed  to  him,  and 
even  the  list  of  his  works  given  by  Jerome,  com- 
prise no  sermons. 

But  now  we  approach  a  new  period.  The  grand 
effort  of  Diocletian  had  failed,  and  it  became  evi- 
dent that  Christianity  could  not  be  destroyed  by 
persecution.  Constantine  adopted  Christianity  a« 
the  main  plank  in  his  political  platform.  Being 
Buccessful,  becoming  sole  ruler  of  the  world,  and 
favoring  the   Christians  in  every  way,   he  wroughi 


60  ON'  nisTnT:Y  of  preaching. 

a  most  sudden  and  complete  change  in  their  posi- 
tion, a  change  having  the  most  varied  and  impor- 
tant results  for  that  age  and  for  the  ages  to  come. 
Yea,  all  Christendom  is  agitated  to-day,  by  the  con- 
Bequences  of  Constuntine's  grand  stroke  of  policy. 
In  no  respect  were  the  immediate  results  more  im- 
portant than  in  regard  to  pxMching. 

The  young  men  "who  were  looking  to  the  minis- 
try of  the  gospel  could  now  without  difficulty  avail 
themselves  of  all  the  best  educational  facilities  in 
the  great  University  cities,  before  attending  their 
Christian  theological  schools.  They  could  now  en- 
joy, not  only  undisturbed  quiet  in  Christian  life, 
etudy,  and  work,  but  the  best  social  advantages. 
0  the  power  for  good  or  evil,  in  every  age  and 
country,  of  social  position,  and  social  influences. 
Before  this  time  Christians  could  scarcely  anywhere 
be  received  into  the  best  society,  and  if  thus  re- 
ceived they  would  be  frequently  met  by  heathen 
customs  in  which  all  were  expected  to  take  part. 
But  now  fashionable  society  smiled  on  Christians, 
and  greatly  courted  those  who  were  influential.  It 
became  the  fashion  to  attend  church.  It  was  a 
passport    to   imperial   favor,    that  one  should    be  a 


FOURTH    !3ENTURT.  61 

rery  zealous  Christian.  And  fashionable  people  in 
Constantinople,  Alexandria,  Antioch,  and  hundreds 
of  smaller  towns,  began  to  speak,  (so  Chrysostom 
intimates,)  almost  as  enthusiastically  about  the  favor- 
ite preacher  of  the  hour,  as  they  spoke  of  the 
favorite  horse  in  the  races,  or  the  reigning  actor  of 
the  theatre.  The  number  of  real  Christians  who 
were  intelligent  rapidly  increased  ;  and  when  to 
these  was  added  the  fashionable  world,  there  arose 
a  great  demand  for  preachers  who  were  literary,  and 
eloquent.  And  if  the  preacher  was  a  deeply  pious 
man,  his  soul  would  be  stirred  by  observing  the 
crowds  of  professed  Christians,  many  of  whom  had 
nothing  of  Christianity  but  the  name,  and  he  would 
be  moved  to  the  most  earnest  and  passionate  warn- 
ings and  appeals. 

Besides,  all  Christendom  was  rent  by  the  great  Ar- 
ian  controversy.  Now  that  the  outside  pressure  of 
persecution  was  removed,  the  Christians  would  not 
hesitate  to  throw  their  whole  soul  into  controversy. 
"While  a  skeptical  modem  historian  may  sneer  at  a 
world-shaking  dispute  over  one  letter,  the  differ- 
ence between  6f2oto()e'utv  and  iiuxAmov,  yet  such  a  subtle 
distinction  was  well  suited  to  the  genius  of  the  Ori- 


6S  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

cntalized  Greeks,  and  Hellenized  Orientals.  And 
although  the  controversy  was  largely  carried  on  by 
political  manoeuvering,  and  courting  favor  with  suc- 
cessive Emperors,  favorites  and  governors,  still 
much  might  be,  much  often  was  accomplished  by 
able  and  eloquent  sermons  on  the  various  aspects  of 
this  great  question  as  to  the  Divinity  of  Christ, 
which  touched  the  very  heart  of  Christianity,  and 
could  be  so  presented  as  mightily  to  stir  the  souls 
of  all  susceptible  hearers.  Many  of  the  Arian  preach- 
ers too,  were  very  able,  highly  educated,  acute  in  ar- 
gument, and  passionately  earnest  in  advocating  their 
ingenious  and  plausible  theory.  Such  rivah-y  must 
have  powerfully  stimulated  the  orthodox  preachers. 

Moreover,  Christian  discourses  could  now  be  freely 
published,  and  widely  circulated.  Thus  the  ser- 
mons of  the  more  eloquent  preachers  speedily  became 
a  model  and  a  stimulus  to  other  preachers  every- 
where, and  also  helped  to  create  a  demand  for  at- 
tractive and  impressive  discourse,  on  the  part  of 
Buch  private  Christians  as  read  the  publications. 

These  glimpses  of  the  situation  may  give  us  some 
conception  of  the  conditions  under  which  Christian 
Preaching  blazed  out  into  such  splendor,  and  sucb 


ATHANASIUS.  6?l 

real  power,  in  the  century  which  began  with  Constan* 
tine  and  Eusebius,  and  ended  with  Chrysostom  and 
Augustine. 

Eusebius  himself,  the  justly  famous  historian,  had 
in  certain  respects  good  gifts  for  preaching,  and  has 
left  some  homilies,  besides  his  extravagant  and  over- 
wrought panegyric  on  Constantine ;  but  he  occupied 
himself  chiefly  with  his  extensive  historical  and 
clironological  studies  and  treatises. 

From  Athanasius,  the  great  Trinitarian  leader, 
we  have  no  genuine  homilies  remaining.  His  style 
of  writing  has  directness,  simplicity,  and  native 
force,  a  vigorous  and  manly  eloquence,  such  as  one 
seldom  meets  with  in  that  age  of  stilted  rhetoric. 
Gregory  Nazianzen,  his  eulogist,  declares  that  Athana- 
sius had  no  literary  culture.  But  this  is  probably 
like  Ben  Jonson's  saying  that  Shakspeare  had  small 
Latin  and  less  Greek,  because  he  had  not  been  a  life- 
long student  like  himself.  It  is,  however,  worth 
notice  that  in  his  two  remarkable  treatises  on  the 
Incarnation,  written  in  all  probability  when  he  was 
between  twenty  and  twenty-five  years  old,  Athanasius 
shows  the  same  excellencies  of  style  as  m  his  later 
works,  which  seems  to  prove  that  these  excelleuciei 


64  ox   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

were  mainly  native.  I  think  that  the  more  Athana 
Bias  is  read,  the  more  it  will  be  regretted  that  he  hafi 
left  us  no  sermons. 

As  to  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  it  must  suflSce  to  remark, 
that  his  well-known  sermons  to  those  about  to  be 
baptized,  and  to  those  recently  baptized,  while  not  of 
remarkable     ability,    are    suggestive   examples    of  a *■ 
practice  which,  with  due  modifications,    might  with  ■ 
great  advantage  be  more  largely  pursued  among  us.      ' .. 

The  name  of  Ephraem  the  Syrian,  who  died  in  , 
378  (five  years  after  Athanasius),  has  in  a  singular 
manner  become  familiar  to  all  of  us,  though  we  may 
not  have  looked  at  his  works.  A  MS.  of  the  New 
Testament,  written  in  the  fifth  century,  was  about 
the  twelth  century  written  over  with  some  works 
translated  from  Ephraem,  and  is  now  known  to  critics 
of  the  Text  as  the  MS.  C,  or  the  Codex  of  Ephraem 
the  Syrian.  His  is  the  great  name  among  the  Syrian 
Christians,  and  he  is  represented  as  one  of  the  lead- 
ing Christian  orators  of  the  century  of  which  we  are 
speaking.  As  a  rare  peculiarity  among  those  great 
preachers,  he  was  what  we  call  a  self-made  man. 
Yet  like  all  such  men  who  really  accomplish  much, 
ae  was  educated  by  the  ideas  and  influences  of  the 


EPHRAEM.  66 

Rge,  by  books,  aud  by  personal  contact  with  gifted 
contemporaries.  He  knew  little  Greek,  yet  enough  to 
correspond  freely  with  Basil  the  Great,  I  have  never 
yet  found  opportunity  to  read  much  of  his  writings, 
but  I  notice  that  he  is  very  highly  eulogized  by  Ville- 
main,  and  described,  by  him  and  others,  as  a  highly 
emotional  preacher,  sometimes  intensely  solemn.  The 
portions  I  have  read  also  show  a  truly  Oriental  fond- 
ness for  imagery.  He  was  at  the  same  time  a  poet, 
the  earliest  Syriac  hymns  being  from  his  pen. 

Shall  we  give  a  moment  to  Macarius,  the  Egyp- 
tian monk  ?  His  homilies  are  without  text,  desultory, 
familiar  talks  to  the  monks,  and  often  to  a  considera- 
ble extent  made  up  of  answers  to  questions  which 
they  ask,  thus  being  literally  Tiomilies.  They  are 
crazy  with  allegorizing,  and  wild  •v\-ith  mysticism, 
but  very  sweet  and  engaging  in  tone,  and  urging  to 
all  the  monastic  virtues,  prayer,  silence,  humility 
and  self-mortification,  in  a  very  impressive  manner. 
Certainly  monasticism  was  a  sadly  one-sided  thing, 
but  its  one  side  of  Christianity  has  been  beautifully 
exhibited  by  some  of  the  earlier  and  medieval  monks, 
both  in  precept  and  example.  Are  ive  not  inclined 
to    be   one-sided   too,    caring  only  for  thought  and 


66  ON"    HISTORY    OF    PKEACHINQ, 

practical  activity,  aud  ueglecting  tlie  cultivation  ol 
religious  seusibility,  and  of  tlie  passive  virtues  ?  It 
would  do  most  of  us  good  to  read  some  of  the  best 
of  the  early  monastic  writers,  as  every  body  agree^s  ia 
true  of  the  *  Imitation  of  Christ,'  and  the  medieval 
Latin  Hymns. 

I  must  mention  one  other  of  the  less  famous 
preachers  of  the  time,  one  scarcely  ever  mentioned 
in  works  of  Church  History — for  we  know  almost 
nothing  of  his  life,  and  his  sermons  take  little  part 
in  the  great  controversies — but  who  deserves  a  very 
warm  commendation.  It  is  Asterius,  bishop  of 
Amasea  in  Pontus.  Of  his  copious  writings,  we 
have  left  about  ten  homilies  believed  to  be  genuine, 
and  some  fragments  of  others,  but  these  are  admir- 
able, some  of  them  really  charming.  The  subjects 
are  moral  or  historical ;  he  has  fine  descriptive  pow- 
ers; the  style  is  marked  by  exquisite  richness  of  ex- 
pression, and  not  overwrought.  His  allusions  show 
that  he  was  familiar  with  Demosthenes,  and  hia 
style  has  something  of  the  classic  moderation  and 
true  elegance.  Some  of  his  sermons  could  be 
preached  in  our  churches  with  little  alteration,  and 
would  be  well  received.     If  some   one  of  you  woulj 


BASIL.  6? 

mate  himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  them, 
and  publish  them  in  a  email  volume  with  introduc- 
tions and,  notes,  I  am  persuaded  that  many  persona 
would  read  them  with  interest,  partly  because  the 
name  is  unknown,  and  the  volume  would  awaken 
curiosity. 

And  now  how  can  I  speak  of  the  great  Greek 
preachers  ? 

Basil  the  Great  (A.  D.  329—379)  possessed  all 
possible  advantages.  His  family  was  rich  and  of 
high  social  position  in  Pontus,  and  from  his  grand- 
parents down  had  been  remarkable  for  piety.  Two 
of  his  brothers  became  bishops,  one  of  them  famous 
(Gregory  of  Nyssa);  and  his  older  sister,  who  pow- 
erfully influenced  him,  founded  and  presided  over 
a  monastery.  His  father,  a  distinguished  rhetori- 
cian, gave  him  careful  instruction  from  childhood. 
At  school  he  surpassed  all  his  fellow-pupils.  Then 
he  studied  at  Constantinople,  taught  by  Libanius, 
the  most  famous  teacher  of  rhetoric  in  that  age, 
with  whom  he  formed  a  lasting  friendship.  After- 
wards he  went  to  Athens,  where  his  fellow-students 
included  Julian  (afterwards  Emperor  and  Apostate), 


68  ON    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING. 

and  Gregory  Nazianzen,  his  early  friend.  Gregory 
tolls  us  in  a  well-known  funeral  eulogium,*  that 
when  he  heard  Basil  was  coming  to  Athens,  he  gave 
the  students  so  high  an  opinion  of  his  abilities  and 
eloquence,  that  they  consented,  as  a  special  dis- 
tinction, to  exempt  Basil  from  the  species  of  hazing 
to  which  new  students  were  always  subjected. 

Thus  he  had  every  advantage, — good-breeding, 
and  all  pious  and  inspiring  home  influences,  care- 
ful early  training,  then  life  in  the  great  capital  city 
(giving  knowledge  of  the  world),  and  afterwards  at 
the  chief  seat  of  learning  in  that  age,  Athens,  with 
the  ablest  instructors  and  the  most  gifted  fellow 
students — his  intellect  disciplined,  and  his  taste 
cultivated  by  the  study  of  classic  philosophy  and 
oratory,  and  yet  his  Christian  feeling  ever  warmed 
anew  by  the  sympathy  and  example  of  his  intelli^ 
gent  and  devout  kindred  at  home. 

He  died  when  less  than  fifty  years  old  (like  the 
English  Dr.  Barrow),  but  his  life  was  crowded  with 
religious  and  literary  labors. 

As  a  preacher,  Basil  shows  greater  skill  in   the 
oonstruction   of  discourses   than  any    Christian  oia 
*  Gregory  Nazianzen  Or.  48,  page  781-3  Bened. 


BASIL.  6S 

tor  who  had  preceded  him.  He  usually  extempo- 
rized, but  he  knew  how  to  piit  a  sermon  together,  or 
to  make  it  grow,  in  a  natural  manner.  The  chief 
excellency  of  his  preaching  is  in  the  treatment  of 
moral  subjects.  He  had  a  rare  knowledge  of  hu- 
man nature,  and  you  may  notice  that  among  all  the 
changes  of  preaching  in  all  the  ages,  two  branches 
of  knowledge  possess  a  universal  and  indestructi- 
ble interest,  deep  knowledge  of  human  nature,  and 
deep  knowledge  of  Scripture.  Basil  shows  wonder- 
ful power  in  depicting  the  various  virtues,  and  still 
more  remarkable  skill  in  tracing  the  growth  and 
consequences  of  leading  vices.  Amid  all  the  admir- 
able temperance  literature  of  our  own  age,  I  have 
seen  no  more  just  and  vivid  exhibition  of  many  of 
the  evils  of  drunkenness,  than  is  given  by  Basil  in 
his  sermon  on  that  subject.  Yet  this  and  some 
others  of  his  discourses  seem  to  me  to  have  a  fault 
itill  common  in  sermons  on  moral  subjects,  viz.,  that 
they  do  not  make  sufficiently  prominent  the  Gospel 
view  of  the  evil,  and  the  Gospel  motives  to  avoid 
it.  The  Christian  moralist  should  be  a  Christian 
moralist.  It  is  not  strange  that  Basil's  old  pagan 
iiutructor  could  enjoy  this    sermon  on  drunkenneee 


70  ox   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

If  the  letters  *  between  them  on  the  occasion  an 
genuine  (and  they  possess  great  vcrisimihtude),  wfl 
find  that  they  praise  each  other  in  very  extravagant 
terms.  Libanius  sends  Basil  an  oration  on  tTie  ill- 
humored  man,  of  which  Basil  says  in  reply,  **  0 
Muses,  and  letters,  and  Athens,  what  gifts  ye  be- 
stow upon  your  lovers."  Then  Libanius  asks  to 
see  Basil's  recent  sermon  on  drunkenness,  amd  hav- 
ing read  it,  says,  "Surely,  Basil,  you  live  at  Athens 
unawares,  for  the  Caesarea  people  (Basil  was  bishop 
of  Caesarea  in  Pontus)  could  not  hear  this  discourse." 
Presently  he  adds,  "  I  did  not  teach  him.  This  man 
is  Homer,  yes  Plato,  yes  Aristotle,  yes  Susarion, 
who  knew  everything."  .  .  .  And  in  conclusion. 
"I  would,  0  Basil,  that  you  could  give  me  such 
praises,"  etc.  Compliments  between  a  professor  and 
his  now  famous  and  very  grateful  pupil  are  apt  to 
be  a  trifle  gushing,  but  in  this  case  the  thing  does 
seem  overdone. 

Basil's  style  has  the  faults  of  his  age,  and  I  would 

not  advise  your  reading  him  very  rapidly  or  freely, 

lest  your  taste  be  offended ;  but  taking  just  one  dis* 

course  ai  a  time,  you  feel  that  you  are  dealing  with 

•  Baell,  Epietlee  351—6,  p.    1093  ff.  Mgne. 


GREGORY    NAZIANZEN.  71 

a  great  mind,   a  noble  character,   a  deeply    devout 
and  truly  eloquent  preacher. 

Gregory  of  Nyssa,  the  brother  of  Basil,  is  among 
the  Greek  Fathers  the  profoundest  thinker  as  to 
philosophy,  as  you  may  see  brought  out  in  Ueberweg's 
History  of  Philosophy.  As  a  preacher,  he  was  and 
is  overshadowed  by  the  fame  of  his  brother  and  of 
his  namesake,  but  so  far  as  a  slender  acquaintance 
enables  one  to  judge,  I  think  him  really  a  more  sat- 
isfactory preacher  than  the  other  and  more  celebrated 
Gregory. 

This  other,  Gregory  Nazianzen  (A  D.  329-389), 
the  friend  and  fellow  student  of  Basil,  was  doubtless 
at  that  time  considered  the  most  eloquent  of  all 
preachers  until  Chrysostom  became  known.  Very 
ambitious,  and  enjoying  the  finest  educational  oppor- 
tunities, Gregory  was  especially  a  student  of  elo 
quence,  and  was  a  man  of  imaginative  and  passionate 
nature.  He  was  the  first  great  hymn-writer ;  and 
his  hymns  became  exceedingly  popular  in  the  Greek 
Church.  Yet  it  has  been  justly  said  that  his  poetry  is 
too  oratorical,  and  his  oratory  too  poetical.  You  may 
notice  that  few  great  preachers  have  written  even  a 
single  good  hymn,  and  no  great  hymn-writer  has  been 


72  ox  HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

very  eminent  as  a  preacjer,  unless  Gregory  be  the 
exception,  or  Ephraem  the  Syrian.  So  more  gener- 
ally as  to  oratory  and  poetry.  The  oratorical  and  the 
poetic  temperament  seem  closely  related,  yet  are 
they  remarkably  distinct.  An  orator  may  derive 
very  great  benefit  from  studying  poets,  but  many 
a  preacher  is  damaged  by  failing  to  understand  the 
difference  between  the  poet's  oflBce  and  his  own. 
Imagination  is  the  poet's  mistress,  his  queen  ;  for 
the  orator,  she  is  a  handmaid,  highly  useful,  indeed 
absolutely  needful,  but  only  a  handmaid.  And 
splendor  of  diction,  which  for  the  poet  is  one  chief 
end,  is  for  the  orator  only  a  subordinate  means. 

But  the  very  faults  of  Gregory's  style,  according 
to  our  taste,  were  high  excellencies  in  the  estimation 
of  his  contemporaries.  His  wildly  extravagant  hyper- 
boles, perpetual  effort  to  strike,  and  high-wrought 
splendor  of  imagery  and  diction,  were  accounted  the 
most  magnificent  eloquence,  and  perhaps  did  really 
recommend  the  truth  to  some  of  his  hearers.  Thua 
while  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  he  preached  five 
discourses  (still  extant),  which  are  said  to  have  done 
much  in  curing  Arianism  there,  and  which  pro- 
cured him  the  surname  of  Theologos,  discourser  on  tha 


CHRTSOSTOM.  73 

Deity  of  Christ,  but  which  you  or  I  can  sc  m  oely  read 
with  any  patience. 

The  career  of  John,  afterward  surnamed  Chry- 
sostom  (A.  D.  347-407),  is  doubtless  somewhat 
familiar  to  you  all,  and  is  exceedingly  well  depicted 
in  the  life  by  Stephens.  He  was  younger,  by  fif- 
teen or  twenty  years,  than  Basil  and  the  Gregories. 
He  was  of  a  distinguished  and  wealthy  family  in 
Antioch,  and  under  the  devoted  care  of  a  widowed 
mother,  received  every  possible  educational  advan- 
tage. The  great  teacher  Libanius  had  now  returned 
to  his  native  Antioch,  and  found  in  John  a  favorite 
pupil,  whom  he  would  have  wished  to  make  his 
successor  as  professor  of  rhetoric  and  kindred  sub- 
jects. In  the  great  city  John  saw  the  world,  and 
sharpened  that  penetrating  knowledge  of  human 
nature  for  which,  like  Basil,  he  was  remarkable. 
For  a  short  time  he  practiced  law,  and  Libaniua 
warmly  commended  some  of  his  speeches  at  the 
bar.  But  he  turned  away,  weary  and  disgusted, 
from  the  thousand  corrn]itions  of  society  and 
government,  and  wlien  his  mother's  death  allowed 
he  went  into  retirement  with  several  friends,  and 
4 


74  OK   HISTORY   OF   PREACniNQ. 

epeut  several  years  in  the  close  study  of  the  Scri]> 
tures.  Among  other  and  greater  results  it  is  said 
that  Chrysostom  knew  almost  the  whole  Bible  hf 
heart.  In  these  studies  they  were  directed  by 
Diodorus,  the  head  of  a  neighboring  monastery, 
and  afterwards  a  bishop,  and  author  of  long  famous 
commentaries  and  other  works.  Here  was  a  turn- 
ing-point of  Chrysostom's  life.  Diodorus,  as  we 
learn  from  various  sources,  founded  what  then 
appeared  to  be  a  new  school  of  Biblical  interpreta- 
tion, a  reaction  from  the  well-known  tendency  of 
the  older  school  of  Alexandria.  He  shrank  from 
allegorizing,  and  held  closely  to  *'the  literal  and 
historical  meaning  of  the  text."  His  copious  writ- 
ings, which  had  the  honor  to  be  specially  attacked 
by  the  Emperor  Julian,  have  perished,  except  a  few 
fragments.  But  Diodorus  lives  forever  in  his  theo- 
logical pupil.  It  is  among  the  greatest  distinctions 
of  Chrysostom,  that  his  interpretation  is  almost 
entirely  free  from  the  wild  allegorizing  which  had 
been  nearly  universal  ever  since  Origen.  It  is  a 
delightful  contrast  to  turn  from  tlie  other  great 
preachers  of  the  time  (including  Augustine),  with 
their    utterly    louse     interpretations,     and     fanciful 


CHRT808TOM.  71 

ipiritualizing,  to  the  straight- forward,  careful  and 
usually  sober  iutcrprciations  of  Chrysostom.  Hia 
works  are  not  only  models  of  eloquence,  but  a  trea- 
•ury  of  exegesis.  And  for  this  the  world  is  mainly 
■'ndebted  to  Diodorus.  Chrysostom  had  mucn  na- 
tive good  sense,  it  is  true,  but  so  had  Athanasius, 
"Dacil,  Augustine.  Nay,  his  early  studies  of  Scrip- 
mre  wsre  directed  by  a  really  wise  and  able  instruct- 
or ;  and  his  good  sense  enabled  him  to  seize  the 
.inst  principles  cf  interpretation  set  before  him,  and 
to  develop  tbera  still  more  ably,  and  recommend 
them  far  mcr^^  ^^'(^e^y  than  the  instructor  himself. 
Highly  favored  vrufi  such  a  student,  and  highly 
fortunate  such  a  toachsr.  It  is  also  believed 
(Forster)  that  Chrysostom  "wa5  gioatly  influenced  as  to 
interpretation,  by  his  Iq.Xc^  jtcdent,  Theodore, 
known  afterwards  as  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia,  and 
a  commentator  of  great  ability.  It  is  among  the 
advantages  of  study  in  company  with  others,  that 
a  man  of  susceptible  nature  will  be  po-w  erf ully  influ- 
enced by  his  associates,  as  well  as  by  the  instructors. 

Chrysostom  long  shrank  from  the  work  of 
preaching,  and  the  office  of  priest,  the  difficulties 
»3id  reBponsibilities  of  which  he  has  so  impressivelj 


76  ON   HISTORY    OF    PRE  ACHING. 

stated  in  his  little  work  ou  the  Priesthood.  He 
wrote  this  and  other  valuable  works  while  holding 
inferior  offices,  but  was  ordained  and  began  preach- 
ing, only  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine.  He  died  at  sixty, 
aftei  three  years  of  exile.  Thus  his  actual  career  as 
a  preacher  lasted  only  eighteen  yea^s,  twelve  years 
at  Antioch,  and  six  at  Constantinople.  In  these 
years  he  preached  almost  daily,  filling  the  civilized 
world  with  his  fame,  and  leaving  about  one  thousand 
sermons  (many  of  them  reported  by  others)  that 
have  descended  to  us.  From  no  other  preacher 
have  one  thousand  sermons  been  published,  except 
Spurgeon,  who  has  now  gone  considerably  beyond 
that  number.  In  our  impatient  age  and  country, 
when  so  many  think  time  spent  in  preparation  is 
time  lost,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  the  two  most 
celebrated  preachers  of  the  early  Christian  centuries 
began  to  preach,  Chrysostom  at  thirty-nine,  and 
Augustine  at  thirty-six. 

I  cannot  fully  discuss  the  characteristics  of  Chry- 
Bostom's  preaching.  It  must  be  admitted  that  he 
is  by  no  means  always  correct  in  his  interpretations, 
particularly  in  the  Old  Testament,  being  ignorant 
of  Hebrew,  and  often  misled  by  the  errors  of  the 


./ 


CHRY^^OSTOM.  7? 

Septuagint ;  also  that  be  shared  many  sad  errors  of 
his  age,  as  to  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  asceti- 
cism and  virginity,  saints  and  martyrs.  It  must 
also  be  conceded  that  his  style  often  wearies  us  by 
excessive  copiousness,  minute  and  long-drawn  de- 
scriptions, multiplied  comparisons,  and  piled-up 
imagery.  But  we  must  always  remember  that  this 
did  not  look  to  excited  throngs  as  it  does  to  us. 
Under  such  circumstances  a  certain  rhetorical  exag- 
geration and  exuberance  seems  natural,  as  a  statue 
placed  high  upon  a  pillar  must  be  above  life-size. 

But  admit  what  you  please,  criticise  as  you 
please,  and  the  fact  remains  that  Chrysostom  has 
never  had  a  superior,  and  it  may  be  gravely  doubted 
whether  he  has  had  an  equal,  in  the  history  of  preach- 
ing. "  He  shared  the  faults  of  his  age,"  you  say. 
Yes,  and  a  man  who  does  not,  will  scarcely  impress 
his  age,  or  any  other.  ''He  does  not  show  such  con- 
summate art  as  Demosthenes."  That  is  true.  But 
the  finish  and  repose  of  high  art  is  scarcely  possible, 
and  scarcely  desirable,  in  addressing  the  preacher's 
heterogeneous  audiences,  comprising  persons  so  dif- 
ferent as  to  culture  and  interest  in  the  subject. 
Demosthenes  has  everywhere  a  style  as  elegant  and 


\y 


78  ON    HISTORY   OF    PREACHIXG. 

purely  simjile  as  tlie  Venus  dei  Medici  or  the  Par- 
thenon ;  Chrysostoni  a])i)ro;iches  in  exuberance  ol 
fancy,  in  multiplication  of  images  and  illustrations, 
and  in  curiously  varied  repetitions,  to  a  Gothic 
cathedral.  Demosthenes  is  like  tlie  Greek  Tragic 
Drama,  strictly  conformed  to  the  three  Unities ; 
Chrysostom  is  more  like  the  Romantic  Drama.  I 
cannot  say  like  Shakspeare  —  the  Shakspeare  of 
preachers  has  not  yet  appeared.  But  why  should 
he  not  some  day  appear  ?  One  who  can  touch 
every  chord  of  human  feeling,  treat  every  interest 
of  human  life,  draw  illustration  from  every  object 
and  relation  of  the  known  universe,  and  use  all  to 
gain  acceptance  and  obedience  for  the  gospel  of 
salvation.  No  preacher  has  ever  come  nearer  this 
than  Chrysostom,  perhaps  none,  on  the  whole,  so 
near.  A  Syrian  Greek,  and  a  Ohristian  Greek,  he 
does  in  no  small  measure  combine  the  Asiatic  and  the 
European,  the  ancient  and  the  modern.  The  rich 
fancy  and  blazing  passion  of  an  Asiatic  is  united 
with  the  power  of  intellect  and  energy  of  will  which 
mark  Europeans ;  while  the  finish  and  simplicity  of 
Greek  art  are  not  so  much  wanting  as  lost  in  the 
manysidedness   of   Christian   thought  and    Christian 


AMBHOSE.  ,  7S 

lentimeiit.  As  to  style  he  certainly  rauge?  the  whol« 
gamut  of  expression  :  for  Avhile  his  style  is  generally 
elevated,  often  magnificent,  and  sometimes  extrava- 
gant, it  occasionally  becomes  homely  and  rough  as 
he  lays  bare  the  follies  and  vices  of  men.*  Chry- 
sostom  is  undoubtedly  the  prince  of  expository 
preachers.  And  he  has  very  rarely  been  equalled  in 
the  treatment  of  moral  subjects,  while  two  of  the 
most  successful  preachers  on  moral  subjects  in  the 
modern  centuries,  viz.,  Bourdaloue  and  Barrow, 
were  both  devoted  students  of  Chrysostom. . 

Among  the  Latin  preachers  of  the  period  there 
are  but  two  great  names,  Ambrose  and  Augustine 
(for  their  famous  contemporary  Jerome,  though  elo- 
quent in  his  writings,  never  preached). 

Of  Ambrose  (A.  D.  340-97,)  I  can  say  but  a 
word.  Of  very  distinguished  family,  carefully  edu- 
cated at  Eome,  he  practised  law  at  Milan  with  much 
eclat    for    eloquence,    became    civil  governor  there, 

*"The  orator  mast  command  the  whole  scale  of  the  Ian- 
gfuage,  from  the  most  eloquent  to  the  most  low  and  vile.  .  . 
.  .  The  street  must  be  one  of  hia  schools.  Ought  not  ths 
•cholar  to  be  able  to  convey  his  meaning  in  terms  as  short 
and  strong  as  the  porter  or  truckman  uses  m  convej  bla  ? 
— Emerson's  Letters  and  Social  Aim*. 


80  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

and  then  in  a  curious  and  well-known  fashion, 
was  suddenly  forced  by  the  vox  popuU  into  the  office 
of  bishop.  Aware  of  his  ignorance  of  Christian 
truth,  he  diligently  studied  Origen,  Hippolytus,  and 
Basil  the  Great,  and  Philo  the  Jew.  From  these 
he  learned  the  wildest  allegorizing,  and  from  thera 
is  said  to  have  in  fact  derived  the  greater  part  of 
his  thought.  This  borrowing  from  the  Greeks  by 
wholesale  had  been  the  general  practice  of  Pagan 
Eoman  writers  also,  as  everybody  knows.  Ambrose 
must. have  been  a  man  of  striking  appearance,  and 
his  style  is  fine  and  flowing,  which  fact  must  have 
been  the  excuse  for  naming  him  the  Christian  Cicero ^ 
which  seems  to  me  extravagant  praise.  But  the 
influence  of  his  preaching  was  greatly  increased  by 
his  administrative  talent.  A  true  Eoman,  a  born 
ruler  of  men,  he  made  himseK  felt  by  emperor  and 
people,  by  his  own  and  by  subsequent  ages.  He  was 
a  man  of  noble  character,  and  his  hymns  (the  first 
Latin  hymns  of  much  importance)  have  a  manly 
vigor  and  directness  which  are  truly  Roman.  Hia 
character  and  administrative  achievements,  and  hia 
eloquent  deliveiy,  gave  prestige  to  his  writings, 
which  would  otherwise  hardly  have  gained  so  great  s 


AUGUSTINE.  81 

reputation.  But  here  is  a  lesson  for  preacners,  who 
may  so  often  add  immensely  to  the  influence  of 
their  preaching,  whether  it  be  good  or  not,  by  ad- 
ministrative tact  and  toil,  and  by  personal  dignity 
and  worth. 

As  to  Augustine  (A.  D.  354-430,)  you  know 
that  he  has  mainly  impressed  himself  on  the  world 
as  a  theologian.  The  great  theological  authority  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  and  nominally  though  one  can 
hardly  think  really  the  great  authority  of  the  Komish 
Church  to  the  present  day,  he  is  also  the  father  of 
the  theology  of  the  Protestant  Reformation. 
Luther  ayowedly  put  Augustine  next  to  tlie  Bible, 
as  his  chief  source  of  religious  knowledge.  Cahnu 
reduced  Augustine's  doctrines  to  a  religious  form, 
aided  by  his  own  training  in  the  scholastic  works 
of  the  Middle  Ages.  "What  we  call  Calvinism  is 
the  doctrine  of  Paul,  developed  by  Augustine  and 
systematized  by  Calvin. 

You  know  too  that  Augustine  has  written  works 
of  very  high  literary  merit,  apart  from  his  theolo- 
gical and  homiletical  writings.  His  Confessi07is 
form  one  of  the  most  unique  and  strangely  impres- 
give  works  in  all  literature — one  of  the  books  thai 
4* 


82  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

orcry  body  ought  by  all  means  to  read.  His  dip 
of  God  has  been  called  a  "prose  Epic,"  and  is  a 
combination  of  history,  philosophy  and  poetry  that 
has  a  power  and  a  charm  all  its  own.  Add  that  his 
work  on  Christian  Teaching  is  the  first  treatise  on 
Sacred  Rhetoric  and  Homiletics,  and  after  all  that 
lias  followed,  the  last  of  its  four  books  is  still 
highly  suggestive. 

But  I  think  that  if  we  had  nothing  else  from 
Augustine  than  his  Sermoiis,  of  which  some  three 
hundred  and  sixty  remain  that  are  reckoned 
genuine,  we  should  recognize  him  as  a  great 
preacher,  as  a  richly  gifted  man,  and  should  feel 
ourselves  powerfully  attracted  and  impressed  by 
his  genius,  his  mighty  will  and  passionate  heart  and 
deeply  earnest  piety.  Our  historian  Paniel,  in  my 
opinion,  wrongs  Augustine  by  underestimating  him 
as  a  preacher,  because  of  bitter  hostility  to  the  doc- 
trines of  grace  which  Augustine  taught.  Bromel 
does  him  more  justice,  and  Ebert.  He  is  unsafe 
as  an  interpreter — a  good  many  of  the  great  theo- 
logians have  been  rather  too  independent  in  their 
exegesis — and  wild  with  allegorizing,  like  every 
other  great    preacher    of    the   age    except  Chryso* 


AUGUSTINE.  83 

torn.  But  his  Bermons  are  full  of  power.  He 
carefully,  if  not  always  correctly,  explains  his  text 
and  repeats  many  times,  in  different  ways,  its  substan- 
tial meaning.  lie  deals  much  in  dramatic  question 
and  answer,  and  in  apostrophe  ;  also  in  digression, 
the  use  of  familiar  phrases,  direct  address  to  par- 
ticular classes  of  persons  present — using  in  general 
great  and  notable  freedom.  Away  with  our  prim 
and  starch  formalities  and  uniformities  1  Yet  free- 
dom must  be  controlled,  as  in  Augustine  it  com- 
monly is  controlled,  by  sound  judgment,  right 
feeling  and  good  taste. 

The  chief  peculiarity  of  Augustine's  style  is  his 
fondness  for,  and  skill  in  producing,  pithy  phrases. 
In  the  terse  and  vigorous  Latin,  these  often  have 
great  power.  The  capacity  for  throwing  off  such 
phrases  is  mainly  natural,  but  may  be  indefinitely 
cultivated.  And  it  is  a  great  element  of  power,  es- 
pecially in  addressing  the  masses  of  men,  if  one  can, 
after  stating  some  truth,  condense  it  into  a  single 
keen  phrase  that  will  penetrate  the  hearer's  mind 
and  stick. 

Hurried  as  this  review  has  been,  I  have  passed 
without  mention  a  number  of  men  who  are  men 


B4  ox    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING. 

or  less  known  to  us  as  eminent  preachers.  An  iri' 
teresting  topic  for  inquiry  would  be.  Preaching  among 
the  early  heretics.  The  enthusiastic  Montanism 
which  won  over  Tertullian  in  his  prime,  must  have 
produced  impassioned  and  stirring  preachers.  The 
Manichaeism  to  which  Augustine  was  so  attached 
in  his  youth,  was  in  some  respects  well  suited  to 
eloquence ;  and  Augustine  declares  that  Faustus  the 
Mauichasan  was  more  eloquent  than  Ambrose, 
whom  he  greatly  admired  and  loved.  I  do  not 
know  anything  as  to  the  Donatist  preachers,  but 
the  mighty  Arian  party,  it  has  been  already  in 
passing  intimated,  comprised  preachers  as  well  as 
scholars  of  great  ability,  from  most  of  whom,  how- 
ever,   nothing    remains  but  a  name. 

I  wish  now  to  remark  upon  two  or  three  of  the 
many  points  of  general  instruction  and  suggestion 
which  present  themselves  in  connection  with  the 
preaching  of  the  early  Christian  centuries. 

1.  As  to  entrance  on  the  ministry.  You  have 
noticed  that  quite  a  number  of  the  famous  men  who 
have  passed  rapidly  before  us,  became  presbyters  or 
bishops    against    their    will.    E,  g.,   Gregory  Thau- 


ENTRANCE   ON    MINISTRY.  86 

niafcurgus  (the  pupil  of  Origen),  and  Gregv^ry  Nazi- 
anzen,  who  fled  from  ordination,  and  published  an 
Apology  for  his  flight,  in  which  he  set  forth  the  re- 
eponsible  and  diflicult  duties  of  the  priesthood. 
So  Chrysostom's  beautiful  treatise  on  the  Priest- 
hood was  written  to  show  why  he  was  not  willing 
to  become  a  priest.  Ambrose  also,  and  Augustine 
entered  the  sacred  ofiice  unwillingly,  and  many 
others  that  we  know  of.  Partly  this  was  due  to 
sacerdotal  notions,  as  implied  in  the  very  name  they 
used,  priesthood ;  partly  it  was  a  mere  fashion ; 
but  in  the  main  we  must  believe  that  these  men 
honestly  shrank  from  a  calling  so  solemnly  respon- 
sible, as  many  others  have  done  in  every  age,  in- 
cluding our  own.  Nay,  we  remember  the  saying  of 
Paul,  "Who  is  suflBcient  for  these  things?"  and 
the  consolation  he  has  handed  down  to  us,  "Our 
sufficiency  is  of  God." 

You  doubtless  observed  also  how  many  of  these 
foremost  preachers  were  of  families  having  a  high 
social  position,  as  Ephraem,  Basil,  Gregory  Naziau- 
zen,  Ohrysostom,  Ambrose  and  Augustine.  This 
gives  a  preacher  advantages  of  no  slight  importance, 
and  we  should  not  allow  our  more  favored  families 


86  o.\'    iHHTOHY    OF    I'liKACHINQ. 

to  suppose  tliat  the  ministry  is  to  come  only  from 
the  poor.  Everybody  notices  too,  the  pious  mothers 
of  Gregory  Nazianzen  and  Chrysostom,  of  Ambrose 
and.  Augustine,  while  in  the  case  of  Basil  and  his 
brother,  the  whole  family  were  remarkable  for  piety, 
beginning  with  the  grandparents.  • 

2.  As  to  Education,  we  have  seen  that  after 
Constantine,  in  the  blooming  period  of  early  Chris- 
tian eloquence,  these  distinguished  preachers  had 
nearly  all  attended  at  the  great  centres  of  secular 
instruction,  gaining  the  most  thorough  general  edu- 
cation the  age  could  aflord.  The  pagan  thought 
and  taste  had  greatly  degenerated,  but  the  noble 
old  Greek  and  Roman  literature  then  existed  in  its 
entirety  (not  in  fragments  as  we  have  it),  and  came 
to  these  students  in  their  own  tongues  wherein  they 
were  bom.  Mr.  Grote,  in  the  preface  to  his  Plato, 
very  unfairly  quotes  Jerome  to  show  that  it  was 
the  tendency  of  what  he  calls  "Hebrew  studies" 
to  make  a  man  despise  ani  neglect  the  heathen 
classics.  But  Jerome  had  peculiar  notions  on  this 
subject.  Basil  recommended  the  classic  writers  to 
b  student,  and  Chrysostom  and  Augustine  speak 
not    so    much   as  loving  these  writers  less,   but  as 


EDUCATION.  87 

loving  the  Scriptures  more.  Besides,  their  ciiouin 
stances  were  very  different  from  ours.  We  can 
admire  the  statues  of  deities,  without  thereby 
encouraging  idolatry,  but  they  could  not ;  and  so 
as  to  the  pagan  literature,  almost  all  intimately 
associated  with  idolatry,  which  was  then  rapidly 
declining,  but  by  no  means  dead.  These  considera- 
tions will  account  for  the  terms  of  disparagement 
in  which  the  great  Christian  writers  of  the  time 
sometimes  speak  of  classical  studies.  But  Julian, 
the  apostate  emperor,  doubtless  understood  the 
situation,  and  he  forbade  Christian  teachers  to 
teach  rhetoric  and  grammar,  and  to  lecture  on  the 
old  classic  authors.  If  Christian  youth  wished  to 
study  these,  let  them  go,  he  said,  to  the  pagan 
teachers.  And  we  are  told  of  distinguished  Chris- 
tian professors  of  rhetoric  who  gave  up  their  posi- 
tions, in  obedience  to  Julian's  edict. 

We  have  also  seen  that  a  singularly  large  number 
of  these  great  preachers  had  studied  the  grand 
systems  of  Greek  and  Eoman  law,  which  must  have 
given  most  important  general  discii^line.  Tertullian, 
Cyprian  and  Ambrose,  Gregory  Thaumaturgus, 
Basil  and  Chrysostom,   all  studied  law,  and  most  of 


88  ON   HISTORY   OF    PREACHING. 

them  for  a  while  engaged  in  the  practice,  'i'at 
same  thing  has  been  true  of  many  eminen:  preacherti 
in  our  own  time.  Let  me  remind  you,  too,  of  the 
great  attention  which  nearly  every  one  of  these 
great  preachers  had  paid  to  the  study  of  0  'atory, 
as  a  practical  art.  I  will  not  discourse  upjn  the 
importance  to  ourselves  of  this  now  so  generally 
neglected  study.  I  trust  you  all  read  the  ^re:ghtJ 
words  spoken  last  summer  at  Amherst  Colk/o  by 
an  illustrious  citizen,  whose  name  recalls  the  whole 
history  of  American  Liberty,  and  whose  chiractor 
and  public  services  are  worthy  of  the  best  ('.ays  of 
the  Republic,  the  Hon.  Charles  Francis  Adams. 
He  declared  that  in  no  country  at  the  presmt  day 
has  public  speaking  such  ample  opportunities  for 
exerting  influence  as  in  America,  and  in  no  civilized 
country  is  the  art  of  public  speaking  so  little  studied. 
(I  think  that  in  this  last  respect  he  ought  to  have 
excepted  England.)  I  would  that  his  exhirtationa 
on  that  subject  might  sink  into  the  hearts  of  our 
aspiring  American  youth. 

But  besides  general  education,  in  all  the  really 
grand  curriculum  of  the  age,  and  at  the  great  schools 
of  Alexandria   and  Antioch^  of    Constintiuoplo   and 


THEOLOGICAL   SCHOOLS.  89 

A.thens,  of  Eome  and  many  lesser  cities,  these  lead- 
ing preachers  nearly  all  pursued  a  long  course  of 
theological  study,  before  entering  upon  the  full 
work  of  the  ministry.  Going  back  to  the  times 
of  Origen,  we  happen  to  have  remaining  a  curious 
account  of  the  studies  in  which  he  trained  his  pupils 
at  Caesarea.  Gregory,  afterwards  surnamed  Thau- 
maturgus  (the  miracle-worker),  on  his  way  from 
Cappadocia  to  a  law-school  at  Beyrout,  met  Origen 
at  Caesarea,  was  converted  by  him  to  Christianity, 
and  became  his  pupil  there  for  eight  years,  though 
he  had  already  studied  at  Alexandria  and  at  Athens. 
"When  at  last  reluctantly  leaving  Caesarea,  Gregory 
delivered  a  valedictory,  commonly  known  as  his 
Panegyric  upon  Origen,  which  is  very  interesting 
on  many  accounts,  among  others  because  it  is  the 
earliest  Christian  oration  we  have. 

He  tells  in  this  valedictory  how  Origen  at  the 
outset  urged  upon  him  in  many  conversations, 
the  advantages  and  delights  of  knowledge,  as  com- 
pared with  what  men  call  practical  pursuits,  and 
soon  fascinated  him  so  that  he  could  not  leave.  He 
says  that  he  and  his  brother  were  like  uncultivated 
land  full  of  briers  and  thistles,  or  like  wild  horses, 


90  ON   HISTORY    OF    PREACHIXG. 

when  Origen  took  hold  of  them.  That  he  taught 
them  both  in  the  Socratic  manner  and  by  diEcoursea 
—that  he  corrected  their  errors,  and  taught  them 
to  distinguish  between  trutii  and  error,  to  be  critical 
both  as  to  language  and  arguments.  The  subjects 
of  their  study,  he  says,  were  Physics  (in  the  broad 
ancient  sense  of  that  term),  especially  Geometry, 
which  he  calls  the  solid  basis  of  all  knowledge,  and 
Astronomy ;  afterwards  Ethics,  Philosophy  in  gen- 
eral, and  Theology.  Such  was  their  eight  years' 
course.  And  now  in  sadly  turning  away  from  this 
worshipped  teacher  and  these  cherished  studies, 
Gregory  compares  himself  to  Adam  driven  out  of 
Paradise,  to  the  prodigal  son  leaving  his  father 
(only  without  any  portion  of  goods),  and  to  the 
Jews  when  carried  into  the  Babylonian  captivity. 
Do  we  mourn  thus  in  leaving  a  long  course  of  study  ? 
If  not,  is  it  because  our  teachers  are  not  Origens, 
or  because  we  are  not  Gregories — or  is  it  that  our 
Btudents  do  not  commonly  expect  to  be  life-long 
celibates,  and  that  thoughts  of  a  domestic  Paradise 
do  often  allure  them  away  from  the  Paradise  of 
College  and  Theological  school  ? 

In   respect  to   their    style,  the  great    Greek  and 


THE   FATHERS.  91 

Latin  Fathers  are,  in  general,  by  no  means  good 
models,  as  I  have  before  intimated  in  passing.  They 
have  the  overwrought  style  of  their  age.  We  see 
this  already  in  Josephus,  and  Plutarch's  Miscella- 
neous Writings,  and  the  Dialogue  on  Oratory  ascribed 
to  Tacitus.  We  see  it  in  Libanius  and  Julian. 
Even  Chrysostom  shows  this  tendency  of  his  age, 
and  often  offends  our  taste.  Here  is  a  reason,  from 
the  point  of  view  of  Rhetoric,  for  objecting  to  the 
substitution  of  Christian  Greek  and  Latin  writers 
for  the  classics  of  the  earlier  time  as  text-books. 
Boys  at  school  and  college  are  always  disappointed 
in  Demosthenes  at  first,  and  they  would  think  Gre- 
gory Nazianzen  far  more  eloquent.  These  writers 
present  precisely  those  faults  of  style  which  youth- 
ful and  untrained  minds  are  too  ready  to  admire 
and  imitate. 

Passing  over  many  other  topics,  I  simply  direct 
your  attention,  in  conclusion,  to  the  striking  fact, 
tkat  the  Christian  preaching  of  these  early  centuries 
culminated  in  Chrysostom  and  Augustine,  and 
then  suddenly  and  entirely  ceasec  to  show  any 
remarkable  power.  East  or  West,  after  Chrysostom 
and  Augustine,  there    is    not    another   really    greal 


B2  ON^   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

preacher  whose  sermons  remain  to  us,  for  seven  cen- 
turies. The  reasons  for  this  would  appear  upon  a 
little  reflection.  In  the  East,  tlie  despotism  and 
■vrorldliness  of  the  Imperial  Court  left  no  room  for 
independence  of  thought,  or  for  high  hope  of  doing 
good  by  eloquence.  Court  intrigue  had  forced  Gre- 
gory Nazianzen  to  resign  at  Constantinople,  and 
driven  Chrysostom  into  exile,  and  the  Greek  bishops 
afterwards  became  mere  courtiers  or  mere  slaves.  In 
the  West,  amid  the  destruction  of  the  Western  Em- 
pire, and  the  conflicts  of  the  barbarians,  the  Roman 
genius  for  government  showed  itself,  and  the  high 
Christian  officials  went  on  gathering  power  and 
making  Rome  in  a  new  sense  the  mistress  of  the 
world,  but  this  was  done  by  administrative  talents 
like  those  of  Leo  the  Great,  and  Gregory  the  Great, 
and  there  was  no  demand  for  supreme  efEorts  in 
preaching.  And  in  both  East  and  West,  men's  minda 
were  now  turned  towards  impressive  ritual,  sacer- 
dotal functions  and  sacramental  efficacies,  and  these 
left  little  room,  as  they  commonly  do,  for  earnest 
and  yigorons  preaching. 


LECTURE  III. 

MEDIEVAL  AND  EEFORMATION  FKEAgHLNG, 

It  is  a  great  mistake,  in  surveying  the  historj 
of  Preaching,  to  pass  at  once  from  Chrysostom  and 
Augustine  to  the  Reformation.  Besides  the  fact, 
now  so  generally  recognized,  that  there  were  ''Reform- 
ers before  the  Reformation,"  it  is  to  be  noticed  that 
among  the  devoted  Romanists  of  the  Middle  Ages 
there  were  some  earnest,  able  and  eloquent  preachers. 
The  common  Protestant  fashion  of  stigmatizing  the 
"Dark  Ages"  is  unphilosophical  and  unjust,  and  has 
proven,  in  some  quarters,  to  be  bad  policy.  Men 
who  had  been  reared  to  think  that  everything  Med- 
ieval was  corrupt  or  silly,  are  sometimes  so  sur- 
prised by  the  first  results  of  a  little  investigation 
that  they  go  quite  over  to  the  opposite  extreme. 

But  not  simply  on  grounds  of  general  justice  and 
fairness  are  we  required  to  notice  the  Medieval 
preaching.     The  fact  is  that  the  history  of  preach- 


94  ON   HISTORY    OF   PREACHtNa. 

ing  cannot  be  understood  without  taking  account  oi 
that  period.  So  far  as  the  form  of  modern  preach- 
ing differs  from  that  of  the  early  Christian  centuries, 
the  difference  has  had  its  origin  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

It  is  true  that  in  that  period  preaching  was  gen- 
erally very  much  neglected.  Over  wide  districts,  and 
through  long  years  at  a  time,  there  would  be  almost 
no  preaching.  "When  men  assembled  in  churches 
it  was  only  to  witness  ceremonies  and  hear  chant- 
ing and  intoning.  If  sermons  were  given,  it  was 
in  many  countries  still  the  custom  to  preach  only  in 
Latin,  which  the  people  did  not  now  understand, 
even  in  Southern  Europe.  Those  who  preached  in 
the  vernacular,  would  often  give  nothing  but  eulo- 
gies on  the  saints,  accounts  of  current  miracles,  etc. 
Most  of  the  lower  clergy  were  grossly  ignorant,  and 
many  of  them  grossly  irreligious,  while  the  bishops 
and  other  dignitaries  were  often  engrossed  with  po- 
litical administration  or  manoeuvring,  perhaps  busy 
in  war,  if  not  occupied  with  pursuits  still  more  un- 
clerical  and  unchristian. 

All  this  was  true.  And  yet  there  were  notable 
exceptions.  Let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  three  or 
four  leading  examples. 


PETER  THE   HERMIT.  ^5 

Certainly  Peter  ilic  Hermit  was  a  great  preacher 
A  man   of  very   small  stature   and  ungainly   shape, 
his  speaking  was  rendered  powerful  by  fiery  enthu- 
giasm,  and  great  flow  of  words.    It  is  difl&cult  to  ex- 
aggerate  the   importance    to  an   orator,  of  vigorous 
health;  and    yet    several  of  the    greatest    preachcra 
have  been  men  in  feeble  health,  as,  besides  Peter  the 
Hermit,  Chiysostom,  St.  Bernard,    Calvin,  Baxter- 
yea,    apparently,   the    apostle   Paul.     But  note  that 
their  diseases  were  not  such  as  debilitate,  not  such 
as  enfeeble   the  nervous  system— that  they  were  all 
capable   of  great  mental  application,   and   possessed 
great  force  of  character,  stimulated  by  burning  zeal 
— and  that  most  of  them,  though  diligent  students, 
were  also  much   given   to  physical  activity.     In   the 
time  of  Peter  and  Bernard,  a  feeble  physique,   es- 
pecially if  it  appeared  to  be  emaciated  by  fasting, 
rather  helped  a  preacher's  oratory  with  the  people ; 
for  first,  it  seemed   to  indicate  great  piety,  and   sec- 
ondly, his  powerful  utterance  when    excited  seemed 
in   that  superstitious  age  to  be  preternatural.     The 
Hon.  Alexander  H.  Stephens  of  Georgia,  is  in  this 
respect  an  anachronism — if  he  had  lived  in  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  the  fact  that  so  trail  a  man  can  speak  twc 


96  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHINO. 

hours  and  hold  a  great  audience  would  hare  stamped 
him  as  a  saint,  preternatu rally  supported,  and  with 
more  than  human  claims  to  attention   and  belief. 

Peter  had  a  most  inspiring  theme  ;  for  with  the 
great  religious  motive  he  united  an  appeal  to  the  love 
of  war,  which  was  so  strong  in  that  age,  and  to  the 
love  of  adventure,  which  is  always  so  strong.  But 
in  addition  to  the  inspiration  of  his  theme,  he  him- 
self must  have  been  surpassingly  eloquent.  We  are 
told  (Michaud  I,  43)  that  he  made  much  use  of  '*  those 
vehement  apostrophes  which  produce  such  an  effect 
upon  an  uncultivated  multitude.  He  described  the 
profanation  of  the  holy  places,  and  the  blood  of  the 
Christians  shed  in  torrents  in  the  streets  of  Jerusa- 
lem. He  invoked,  by  turns,  Heaven,  the  saints,  the 
angels,  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth  of  what  he  told 
them.  He  apostrophized  Mt.  Zion,  the  rock  of 
Calvary,  and  the  Mount  of  Olives,  which  he  made 
to  resound  with  sobs  and  groans.  When  he  had  ex- 
hausted speech  in  painting  the  miseries  of  the  faith- 
ful, he  showed  the  spectators  the  crucifix  which 
he  carried  with  him ;  sometimes  striking  his  breast 
and  wounding  his  flesh,  sometimes  shedding  tor- 
rents of  tears.*'    Fanatical,   no   doubt   he  was,  but 


ST.    BERNARD.  9*^ 

our  present  concern  is  with  his  elociuence.  Read, 
with  this  in  view,  the  story  of  his  preaching,  and 
of  the  prodigious  effects  produced  upon  high  a?id 
low,  upon  men,  women  and  children,  and  you  will 
probably  beliere  that  seldom,  in  all  the  history  of  man, 
has  there  been  such  overpowering  popular  eloquence 
as  that  of  Peter.  And  while  we  are  rejoicing  to 
study  the  recorded  and  finished  eloquence  of  Demos- 
thenes and  Daniel  Webster,  of  Chrysostom  and 
Robert  Hall,  we  have  also  much  to  learn  from  the 
mere  history  of  great  popular  orators  like  Patrick 
Henry  and  Peter  the  Hermit. 

But  the  case  of  the  great  Crusading  Evangelist 
was  very  peculiar.  We  find  a  little  later  a  notable 
example  of  preaching  in  the  strict  sense  of  the 
term. 

Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  commonly  called  St. 
Bernard,  lived  from  A.  D.  1091  to  1153  in  France, 
a  devoted  monk  and  a  fervently  pious  man.  Pale, 
meagre,  attenuated  through  much  fasting,  looking 
almost  as  unsubstantial  as  a  spirit,  he  made  a  great 
impression  the  moment  he  was  seen.  He  possessed 
extraordinary  talents,  and  though  he  made  light  ol 
human  learning,  he  at  least  did  so  only  after  acquiring 


98  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

it.  His  sermons  and  other  writings  <lo  not  indicate  a 
profound  metaphysical  thinker,  like  Augustine  or 
Aquinas,  but  they  present  treasures  of  devout 
sentimeiit,  pure,  deep,  delightful — mysticism  at  its 
best  estate.  His  style  has  an  elegant  simplicity  and 
sweetness  that  is  charming,  and  while  many  of  his 
expressions  are  as  striking  as  those  of  Augustine, 
they  seem  perfectly  easy  and  natural.  His  utterance 
and  gesture  are  described  as  in  the  highest  degree 
impressive.  His  power  of  persuasion  was  felt  by 
high  and  low  to  be  something  irresistible. «  Even 
his  letters  swayed  popes  and  sovereigns.  This 
wonderful  personal  influence  was  shown  in  many 
cures,  which  he  and  others  believed  to  be  miraculous. 
Bernard  is  often  called  "the  last  of  the  Fathers." 
If  we  were  asked  who  is  the  foremost  preacher  in 
the  whole  history  of  Latiii  Christianity,  we  should 
doubtless  find  the  question  narrowing  itself  to  a 
choice  between  Augustine  and  Bernard.  His  sermona 
show  more  careful  preparation  than  those  of  the  early 
Latin  Fathers.  He  has  felt  to  some  extent  the  sys- 
tematizing tendencies  of  the  scholastic  thought  and 
method — for  Anselm's  principal  works  appeared 
before    Bernard    was    bom,    and    Abel^rd    was    hij 


ST    BEENARD.  99 

Benioi  by  a  dozen  years — and  the  effect  of  this  sys- 
tematizing tendency  we  see  in  the  more  orderly 
arrangement  of  his  discourses,  though  they  do  not 
show  formal  divisions.  He  greatly  loved  to  preach, 
and  we  are  told  that  he  preached  oftener  than  the 
rules  of  his  order  appointed,  both  to  the  monks  and 
to  the  people.  He  was  accustomed  to  put  down 
thoughts,  and  schemes  of  discourses,  as  they  occurred 
to  him,  and  work  them  up  as  he  had  occasion  to 
preach — a  plan  which  many  other  preachers  have 
found  useful.  His  methods  of  sermonizing  have 
considerable  variety,  and  his  manner  of  treatment 
is  free.  I  need  not  say  that  he  was  devoted  to  alle- 
gorizing, which  was  universal  in  that  age.  I  count 
in  his  works  eighty-six  sermons  on  the  Song  of  Solo- 
mon^ and  when  the  scries  was  cut  short  by  his  death, 
he  had  just  begun  the  third  chapter.  In  his  other 
sermons  too  he  quotes  the  Song  of  Solomon  as  often 
as  Chrysostom  quotes  Job.  Before  we  speak  lightly 
of  this  passionate  love  for  Solomon's  Song  by  medie- 
val monks,  as  some  Protestants  do  speak,  it  may  be 
well  to  remember  that  Richard  Baxter  and  Jonathan 
Edwards  studied  that  book  with  peculiar  delight. 
Beniard  was  warmly  praised  by  Luther,  Melano 


100  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

then  and  Calvin.  I  think  that  beyond  any  othei 
medieval  preacher,  he  will  repay  the  student  of  the 
present  day. 

About  fifty  years  after  the  death  of  Bernard, 
I.  e.  in  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  two 
new  monastic  orders  were  founded,  the  mendicant 
orders  of  Franciscans  and  Dominicans.  The  latter 
order  was  founded  for  the  express  purpose  of  preach- 
ing. And  it  is  instructive  to  notice  that  the  imme- 
diate occasion  of  its  establishment  was  the  observed 
popularity  and  power  of  preaching  among  the 
Waldenses.  Besides  settled  preachers,  Peter  Waldo 
had  recently  begun  to  send  out  Evangelists,  two 
by  two,  who  were  known  as  the  "  Poor  Men  of 
Lyons."  Dominic  began  his  order  to  meet  these 
heretics  just  as  Protestantism  afterwards  led  to  the 
Society  of  Jesus.  But  in  a  few  years  Dominic  went 
to  Eome,  and  preached  there  with  irresistible 
eloquence,  drawing  the  highest  dignitaries  to  sym- 
pathize with  his  plans.  All  men  could  see  that 
l>reaching  was  everywhere  greatly  needed,  and  the 
idea  of  a  general  order  of  preachers,  to  be  controlled 
by  the  eloquent  Dominic,  was  welcomed,  so  that 
Borne  now  became  its  centre.     Within  a  few  years 


THE   DOMINICANS.  101 

this  order  embraced  four  hundred  and  seventy  dif- 
ferent monasteries,  in  every  country  of  Europe, 
and  spreading  into  Asia,  making  probably  twenty 
thousand  travelling  preachers.  In  the  course  of 
time  the  Dominicans  became  worldly,  and  less  zeal- 
ous in  this  great  work.  But  for  two  or  three 
generations  this  mighty  order  of  **  Evangelists," 
as  we  should  say,  made  the  Christian  world  ring 
with  their  preaching.  They  formed  also  a  singular 
and  very  influential  outside  order  of  laymen,  called 
Tertiaries,  who  were  bound  by  their  vow  to  entertain 
the  wandering  preachers,  to  spread  the  fame  of  their 
eloquence,  crowd  to  hear  them,  and  "applaud,  at 
least  by  rapt  attention."  You  perceive  that  several 
things  have  been  understood  in  the  world  before 
oui"  day. 

The  Franciscans  addressed  themselves  especially 
to  Foreign  Mission  work  among  the  Mohammedans 
of  Spain,  Africa  and  the  East,  but  also  comprised 
many  zealous  preachers  at  home.  To  these  two 
orders  belonged  the  other  two  great  medieval  preach- 
ers of  whom  I  shall  speak,  Antony  of  Padua  being 
a  Franciscan,  and  Thomas  Aquinas  a  Dominican. 

Antony,   a    Portuguese,    and  a  Franciscan   mis< 


2  ON"   HISTORY   OF   PllEACHING. 

sionary  to  Africa,  afterwards  came  to  Italy,  where 
bo  gained  his  extraordinary  reputation  as  a  preacher, 
and  died  in  1231,  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven.  He  is 
reckoned  by  some  as  the  most  popular  preacher  that 
ever  lived.  We  read  of  twenty  thousand  persona 
as  crowding  at  night  around  the  stand  where  he 
was  to  preach  next  morning,  and  after  the  sermon 
making  bonfires  of  their  playing  cards,  etc.;  and 
sometimes  as  many  as  thirty  thousand  were  present 
when  he  preached.  In  point  of  mere  numbers,  this 
surpasses  Chrysostom,  Whitefield,  Spurgeon  and 
Moody.  Yet  much  of  this  popularity  on  the  part 
of  Antony  of  Padua  was  due  to  the  superstitious 
belief  that  he  had  supernatural  power,  that  he  could 
work  miracles.  We  are  told,  for  instance,  that  once 
he  preached  to  the  fishes,  '"giving  them  in  conclusion 
the  apostolical  benediction,  and  behold  !  they  showed 
their  joy  by  lively  movement  of  tail  and  fins,  and 
raised  their  heads  above  the  water,  bowed  reverently 
and  went  under.  At  this  unbelievers  were  astonished, 
and  the  most  dreadful  heretics  were  converted."* 

Yet  these  superstitious  follies  must  not  prevent 
onr  observing  that  he  was  really  a  great  preacher 
♦  Lestz,  i,  p.  229. 


ANTONY    OF    PADUA.  103 

and  some  things  in  his  manner  of  preaching  are  par 
ticularly  noteworthy. 

(1)  Antony  of  Padua  was  the  first  preacherj 
so  far  as  I  can  learn,  who  made  a  careful  division 
of  his  sermons  into  several  heads — which  his  extant 
sermons  show  that  he  commonly  did,  though  not 
universally.  For  example,  on  the  text,  "  Blessed 
are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord,"  Apocal.  xiv.,  he 
begins  thus:  "Note  that  in  these  words  death  is 
described,  about  which  the  apostle  John  proposes 
three  things,  viz.,  the  debt  of  nature,  where  he  says, 
•  The  dead  * ;  the  merit  of  grace,  where  he  says, 
^Who  die  in  the  Lord';  the  reward  of  glory,  where 
he  says,  'Blessed.'  .  .  .  ''Likewise  note  that  God 
gives  ns  three  things,  viz.  to  live,  to  live  well,  to  live 
forever.  For  in  creation  he  gives  us  to  live,  in  justifica- 
tion to  live  well,  in  glorification  to  live  forever.  But  to 
live,  little  profits  hkn  to  whom  it  is  not  given,  or  who 
docs  not  strive,  to  live  well ;  and  to  live  well  would 
not  suffice  if  it  were  not  given  to  live  forever."  And 
go  throughout,  everything  is  formally  divided. 

These  formal  divisions,  a  new  thing  in  the  historji 
of  preaching,  came  from  applying  to  practical  dis- 
course the  methods  then  pursued  in  the  Universities, 


104  ON"   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

Most  of  the  great  sclioolmen  were  predeceESOrs  oi 
contemporaries  of  Antony,  and  all  the  most  vigorouB 
thought  of  the  time  adopted  their  method.  If  it 
were  asked  how  these  methods  themselves  arose,  the 
answer  would  seem  to  be  this.  The  schoolmen 
sought  to  rationalize  Christianity,  to  make  it  con 
formable  and  acceptable  to  human  reason,  as  so 
many  have  done  before  and  since  their  epoch.  But 
these  medieval  thinkers  could  not  rationalize  as  to 
the  truth  of  Christianity,  as  to  its  sources,  or  its 
doctrinal  contents,  for  all  these  were  fixed  for  them 
by  the  unquestionable  authority  of  the  Church.  So 
they  fell  to  applying  the  processes  of  the  Aristotelian 
logic  to  this  fixed  body  of  Christian  trujih,  seeking 
by  decomposition  and  reconstruction  to  bring  it  into 
forms  acceptable  to  their  reason.  Each  new  philoso- 
pher would  decompose  more  minutely  and  reorgan- 
ize more  elaborately.  Thus  logical  division,  formally 
stated,  became  the  passion  of  the  age.  And  while 
then  and  often  afterwards  carried  to  a  great  extreme, 
and  though  there  have  been  many  reactions,  in  preach- 
ing as  in  other  departments  of  literature,  yet  this 
scholastic  passion  for  analysis  has  powerfully  affected 
the  thought  and  the  expression  of  all  subsequent  con 


ANTOXT    OF    PADUA.  105 

tunes.  If  any  of  you  wish  to  examine  the  first  known 
gpecimens  of  this  method  in  preaching,  and  have 
not  access  to  the  rare  old  folio  of  Antony's  works 
in  Latin,  I  have  seen  advertised  a  small  volume  of 
translations  from  Antony  of  Padua  by  Dr.  Neale, 
who  has  also  given  some  account  of  him  in  the 
volume  on  ^ledievai  Preaching.  You  will  notice 
that  most  of  Antony's  sermons,  as  we  have  them, 
are  really  sketches  of  sermons,  published,  we  are  told, 
for  the  benefit  of  other  brethren.  Augustine  dic- 
tated some  short  sermons,  to  be  used  by  other 
preachers,  but  Antony  has  left  the  first  collection 
of  what  modern  pulpit  literature  knows  only  too 
well,  as  "Sketches  and  Skeletons." 

(2)  But  one  would  think  it  must  have  been  some- 
thing else  than  formal  scholastic  divisions  that  made 
Antony's  preaching  so  popular.  And  we  find  that 
he  abounded  in  illustralion,  and  that  of  a  novel 
kind.  Anecdotes  of  saints  and  martyrs  had  become 
somewhat  stale,  and  Antony  preferred  to  draw 
illustration  from  the  trades  and  other  occupationg 
of  those  he  was  addropsing,  from  the  habits  of  ani 
mals,  and  other  such  matters  of  common  observation. 

(3)  His  allegorizing  is  utterly  wild   and  baseless, 


lOG  ON   HISTORY   OF    PREACHING. 

beyond  anything  that  I  hare  seen  even  in  the  Fathers 
But  such  stuff  seems  always  to  have  a  charm  for  tht 
popular  mind,  as  seen  in  many  ignorant  Baptist  preach- 
ers at  the  present  day,  white  and  colored — probably 
for  two  reasons,  because  it  constantly  presents  novel- 
ties, and  because  it  appeals  to  tlie  imagination.  Strict 
interpretation  takes  away  from  us  for  the  most  part 
this  means  of  charming  audiences,  but  we  can  to 
some  extent  make  amends,  since  strict  and  careful 
interpretation  will  itself  often  give  great  freshness 
of  view,  even  to  the  most  familiar  passages,  while 
illustration  both  affords  novelty  and  appeals  to  the 
imagination. 

Thomas  Aquinas,  the  Neapolitan  Count,  and 
Dominican  friar,  who  died  six  centuries  ago  (1274) 
at  the  age  of  fifty,  is  by  common  consent  regarded 
as  the  greatest  theologian  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
one  of  the  greatest  minds  in  the  history  of  philoso- 
phy. It  is  surely  an  interesting  fact  that  he  was 
at  the  same  time  very  popular  as  a  preacher  to  the 
common  people,  being  thus  faithful  to  his  Domin- 
ican vow.  Amid  tlie  immense  and  amazing  mass  of 
his  works  are  many  brief  discourses,  and  treatises 
which  were   orig'nally  discourses,  marked  by  clear- 


THOMAS   AQUINAS.  10? 

ness,  simplicity  and  practical  point,  and  usually 
very  short,  many  of  them  not  requiring  more  than 
ten  minutes,  though  these  were  doubtless  expanded 
in  preaching  to  the  common  people.  He  has  also 
extended  commentaries  on  perhaps  half  the  books 
of  Scripture,  in  which  the  method  of  exposition  is 
strikingly  like  that  with  which  we  are  all  familiar 
in  Matthew  Henry,  leading  us  to  believe  that  in  the 
former  as  well  as  in  the  latter  case  the  exposition 
was,  for  the  most  part,  first  presented  in  the  form 
of  expository  sermons.  He  is  not  highly  imagina- 
tive, nor  flowing  in  expression ;  the  sentences  are 
short,  and  everything  runs  into  division  and  subdi- 
vision, usually  by  threes.  But  while  there  is  no  or- 
nament, and  no  swelling  passion,  he  uses  many 
homely  and  lively  comparisons,  for  explanation  as 
well  as  for  argument. 

It  is  pleasant  to  think  of  the  fact  that  this  great 
philosopher  and  author  loved  to  preach,  and  that 
plain  people  loved  to  hear  him.  And  many  of  us 
ordinary  men  would  do  well  like  him  to  combine  phil- 
osophical and  other  profound  studies  with  simple  and 
practical  preaching.  Tliirty  years  ago,  Jacob  R. 
Scott,  a  Massachusetts  man,  and  graduate  of  Browr 


108  ON   HISTOKT   OF   PREACHING. 

and  of  Newton,  became  chaplain  to  the  University 
of  Virginia,  and  gave  his  valued  friendship  to  a 
young  student  who  was  looking  to  the  ministry. 
When  the  young  man  began  to  preach,  unfortU' 
nately  without  regular  theological  education,  he 
wrote  to  Mr.  Scott  for  information  about  books  and 
advice  as  to  study,  and  received  a  long  and  instruct- 
ive letter,  in  the  course  of  which  was  given  a  bit 
of  counsel  which  has  several  times  since  gone  the 
rounds  of  the  newspapers  :  "  Read  Butler,  and  preach 
to  the  negroes,  and  it  will  make  a  man  of  you." 
The  prediction  has  certainly  been  but  very  par- 
tially fulfilled,  and  one  of  the  conditions,  it  must 
be  admitted,  has  not  been  fully  complied  with. 
While  preaching  much  to  the  negroes,  and  other 
ignorant  people,  he  has*  not  suflBciently  studied 
Butler,  and  other  philosophers.  I  tell  the  simple 
story  partly  in  order  to  pay  a  slight  tribute  of  grat- 
itude to  a  son  of  Newton  who  has  passed  away,  and 
partly  because  it  may  bring  a  little  nearer  to  you 
the  important  thought  that  we  ought  to  combine 
profound  studies  with  practical  preaching. 

You  may  notice  that  the  great  medieval  preach- 
ers I  have  mentioned  all  fall  within  the  twelfth  and 


MEDIEVAL    PKEACHTNG.  10£ 

thirteenth    centuries.     To    tho   same    period    belong 
the  greatest   of    the    Latin   hjmin-writers,    Adam   oi 
St.    Victor   (who  is  now   regarded   as  the    foremost 
of  them  all),  and  the  authors  of  the  Celestial  City, 
the   Stabat   Mater,    and   the    Dies  Irae.     If  you   in- 
quire  for  the   cause   of  this    accumulation    of  emi- 
nent preachers  and  sacred  poets  in  that  age,  the  ex- 
planation would  doubtless  be    chiefly  the   Crusades. 
These    had  powerfully  stirred  the   sonl   of  Europe, 
awakening  all  minds  and  hearts.     At  the  same  time, 
by  keeping  up   a  distant  warfare,   they  had    given 
many  generations  of  peace  at  home,    and  thus  af- 
forded opportunity  for  the  work   of  the  great  Uni- 
versities and  the  rise   of  the  great   Schoolmen,  and 
80    likewise  for   the   appearance    of   great  preachers 
and  hymn-writers.     Moreover,  the   rise  of   the  mid- 
dle   class    greatly  heightened   the  aggregate    mental 
activity  of  society.     And  though  what  we  call  the 
"Revival   of  Learning"   was  much   later  than  this, 
yet  already  there   was  a  growing  and  inevitably  in- 
spiring acquaintance  with  the  Classic  Latin  authors, 
as,  for  example,  in  the  next  generation  after  Thoma? 
Aquinas,  Dante  shows  himself  familiar  with  Virgil. 
The    study  of  the  Roman   Law    had   also  been  r^ 


110  ON    HISTORY    OF    I'KKACHrXG, 

vived,  and  there  were  now  professors  of  Civil  Law 
in  all  the  great  Universities.  As  regards  preach- 
ing, we  can  see  what  causes  ended  this  period  of 
prosperity.  For  in  the  next  two  centuries  (J  4th 
and  loth)  there  were  again  terrible  wars  in  Europe 
itself.  Scholasticism  had  run  its  course,  the  Papacy 
became  frightfully  corrupt,  and  the  better  spirits 
were  either  absorbed  in  Mysticism,  or  engaged  in 
unsuccessful  attempts  to  reform  the  Church.  With 
the  general  corruption  the  great  preaching  orders 
rapidly  degenerated.  If  Thomas  Aquinas  was  a 
Dominican,  and  Tauler,  so  also  was  the  infamous 
Tetzel,  whose  proclamation  of  indulgences  called 
forth  the  theses  of  Luther. 

Of  the  great  Mystics  I  can  only  mention  Tauler, 
doubtless  the  foremost  of  his  class  in  that  age. 
Some  of  you  are  probably  familiar  with  an  admir- 
able volume  containing  his  Life  and  twenty-five 
sermons,  published  in  New  York  in  1858.  Taulei 
lived  on  the  Rhine  in  tlie  fourteenth  century,  hav- 
ing been  educated  at  the  University  of  Paris,  then 
the  greatest  of  all  seats  of  learning.  In  a  time  of 
great    political    and    social   evils,  of  protracted  civil 


TAULER.  Ill 

war  followed  by  a  terrible  struggle  between  the  rop« 
aTid  the  Emperor  (for  Germau  Emperors  and  Popes 
have  had  many  a  fierce  conflict  before  to-day),  a  time 
of  frightful  pestilence,  a  time  of  sadly  dissolute  morals 
even  among  priests  and  monks  and  nuns,  Tauler 
labored  as  a  faithful  priest.  After  years  thus  spent, 
he  was,  at  the  age  of  fifty,  lifted  to  what  we  call  a 
Higher  Life  through  the  influence  of  a  young  lay- 
man,  the  head  of  a  secret  society  which  was  trying 
to  reform  religion  without  leaving  the  Church.  It 
was  after  this  Higher  Life  period  began  with 
Tauler  that  he  preached  the  sermons  which  were 
taken  down  by  hearers  and  remain  to  us. 

We  ought  to  study  these  mystical  writings. 
They  represent  one  side  of  human  nature,  and  min- 
ister, in  an  exaggerated  way,  to  a  want  of  men  in 
every  age.  Our  own  age  is  intensely  practical. 
Yet  see  how  readily  many  persons  accept  the  idea 
of  a  Higher  Life,  of  the  Rest  of  Faith,  etc.  Do  not 
most  of  DS  so  neglect  this  aspect  of  Christianity  in 
our  studies  and  our  preaching,  as  to  leave  the  natu- 
ral thirst  for  it  in  some  hearers  ungratified,  and  thus 
prepare  them  to  catch  at,  and  delight  in,  such  ideaa 
and    sentiments  when  presented  in    an  extravaganj 


112  ON  HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

Rncl  enthusiastic  form  ?  If  we  do  not  noglect  thi 
Scriptural  mysticism — as  found  in  the  writings  ol 
John  and  also  of  Paul — we  shall  see  less  readiness 
among  our  people  to  accept  a  mysticism  that  is  un- 
Bcriptural 

Let  it  be  added  that  Tauler  did  not  preach  mere 
mystical  raptures.  He  searchingly  applies  reli- 
gious principle  to  the  regulation  of  the  inner  and 
the  outer  life,  and  urges  that  ordinary  homely 
duties  shall  be  performed  in  a  religious  spirit. 

I  must  pass  with  brief  mention  the  preaching  of 
the  now  celebrated  "  Reformers  before  tlie  Refor- 
mation." Of  Wyclif,  who  died  in  England  twenty 
years  later  than  Tauler,  and  of  his  **poor  preachers," 
we  may  have  time  to  think  on  another  occasion. 
John  Huss,  who  was  a  little  later,  and  powerfully 
influenced  by  the  writings  of  Wyclif,  was  an  elo- 
quent and  scholarly  man.  University  preacher  and 
Queen's  Confessor  in  Bohemia,  and  his  "fervid 
sermons  "  in  favor  of  moral  and  ecclesiastical  refor- 
mation long  made  a  great  impression.  And  to  pass 
over  many  others,  we  must  believe  that  there  has 
seldom  been  more  impressive  preaching  than  that 
of    the    Italian    Dominican    Savonarola,   who    acted 


THE    REFOIt^IATlON.  118 

the  part  of  prophet,  preacher  aud  virtual  ruler  in 
Florence  during  the  last  years  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, when  Martin  Luther  was  a  child.  A  cen- 
tury before  Luther,  lived  Thomas  a-Kempis,  in  the 
Netherlands  and  Gerson  in  France.  It  is  much 
disputed  which  of  them  wrote  the  tract  on  **  The  Imi- 
tation of  Christ."  The  former  is  said  by  historians 
not  to  have  been  a  very  eloquent  preacher  ;  Gerson 
was  a  preacher  of  real  power,  and  highly  esteemed  by 
Luther. 

"We  come  now  to  the  preaching  of  the  great  Re- 
formers. In  devoting  to  them  the  mere  fraction 
of  a  lecture,  we  have  at  least  the  advantage  that 
here  the  leading  persons  and  main  facts  are  well 
known.  Let  us  notice  certain  things  which  hold 
true  of  the  Reformation  preaching  in  general. 

(1)  It  was  a  revival  of  preacliing.  "We  have  seen 
that  in  the  Middle  Ages  there  was  by  no  means 
such  an  utter  dearth  of  preaching  as  many  Protest- 
ant writers  have  represented.  Yet  the  preachers 
wo  have  referred  to  were,  even  when  most  numerous, 
rather  exceptions  to  a  rule.  Even  the  great  Mis- 
sionary organizations,  the  Franciscans  and  Domini 


114  ON    HISTORY   OF    PEEACHING. 

cans,  poured  forth  their  thousands  of  mendicai  i 
preachers  to  do  a  work  which  the  local  clergy 
mainly  neglected,  and  which  tliey  were  often  all 
the  more  willing  to  neglect  because  the  travelling 
friars  would  now  and  then  undertake  it.  Peripa- 
tetic preachers,  evangelists,  however  useful  under 
^ome  circumstances  and  worthy  of  honor,  become  a 
curse  to  any  pastor  who  expects  them  to  make  amends 
for  his  own  neglect  of  duty.  In  general,  the  clergy 
did  not  preach.  And  the  Reformation  was  a  great 
outburst  of  preaching,  such  as  had  not  been  seen 
fiince  the  early  Christian  centuries. 

(2)  It  was  a  I'evival  of  Biblical  preaching.  In- 
stead of  long  and  often  fabulous  stories  about  saints 
and  martyrs,  and  accounts  of  miracles,  instead  of 
passages  from  Aristotle  and  Seneca,  and  fine-spun 
subtleties  of  the  Schoolmen,  these  men  preached  the 
Bible.  The  question  was  not  what  the  Pope  said  ; 
und  even  the  Fathers,  however  highly  esteemed,  were 
not  decisive  authority — it  was  the  Bible.  The 
preacher's  one  great  task  was  to  set  forth  the  doc- 
trinal and  moral  teachings  of  the  Word  of  God. 

And  the  greater  part  of  their  preaching  vtsls  exposi- 
tory.    Once  more,  after  long  centuries,  people  were 


THE    REIOUM,VTI0N.  118 

reading  the  Scriptures  in  their  own  tongue,  and 
preachers,  studying  the  original  Greek  and  Hebrew, 
were  carefully  explaining  to  the  people  the  connected 
teachings  of  passage  after  passage  and  book  after  book. 
For  example,  Zwingle,  when  first  beginning  his  minis- 
try at  Zurich,  ar.nounced  his  intention  to  preach,  not 
simply  upon  the  church  lessons,  but  upon  the  whole 
gospel  of  Matthew,  chapter  after  chapter.  Some 
friends  objected  that  it  would  be  an  innovation, 
and  injurious;  but  he  justly  said,  **It  is  the  old 
custom.  Call  to  mind  the  homilies  of  Chrysostom 
on  Matthew,  and  of  Augustine  on  John."  And 
these  sermons  of  Zwingle's  made  a  great  impression. 
There  was  also  at  the  basis  of  this  expository  preach- 
ing by  the  Reformers  a  much  more  strict  and  reasona- 
ble exegesis  than  had  ever  been  common  since  the 
days  of  Chrysostom.  Luther  retained  something  of 
the  love  of  allegorizing,  as  many  Lutherans  have 
done  to  the  present  day.  But  Calvin  gave  the  ablest, 
soundest,  clearest  expositions  of  Scripture  that  had 
been  seen  for  a  thousand  years,  and  most  of  the 
other  great  Reformers  worked  in  the  same  direction. 
Such  careful  and  continued  exposition  of  the  Bible, 
based  in  the  main  upon  sound  exegesis,  and  pursued 


116  ON    HISTORY    OF    I  REACHING. 

with  loving  zeul,  could  not  fail  of  great  results, 
especially  at  a  time  when  direct  and  exact  knowledge 
of  Scripture  was  a  most  attractive  and  refreshing 
novelty.  The  same  sort  of  effect  is  to  some  extent 
seen  in  the  case  of  certain  useful  laborers  in  our  own 
day,  who  accomplish  so  much  by  Bible  readings  and 
highly  Biblical  preaching.  The  expository  sermons 
of  the  Reformers,  while  in  general  free,  are  yet  much 
more  orderly  than  those  of  the  Fathers.  They  have 
themselves  studied  the  great  scholastic  works,  and 
been  trained  in  analysis  and  arrangement,  and  the 
minds  of  all  their  cultivated  hearers  have  received 
a  similar  bent.  And  so  they  easily,  and  almost 
spontaneously,  give  their  discourses  something  of 
plan.  Accordingly  they  are  in  many  respects  models 
of  this  species  of  preaching.  In  general,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  best  specimens  of  expository  preaching 
are  to  be  found  in  Chrysostom,  in  the  Reformers, 
especially  Luther  and  Calvin,  and  in  the  Siottiab 
pulpit  of  our  own  time. 

(3)  The  Reformation  involved  a  revival  of  confrO' 
versidl  preaching.  Religious  controversy  is  unpopu- 
lar in  our  day,  being  regarded  as  showing  a  lack  of 
charity,  of  broad  culture,  and  in  the  estimation  of  some, 


THEOLOGICAL   SCHOOLS.  117 

a  lack  even  of  social  refiuemeut  and  courtesy.  It  ia 
possible  that  a  few  preachers,  even  some  of  our  Baptisi 
brethren,  are  too  fond  of  controversy,  and  do  perhaps 
exhibit  some  of  the  deficiencies  mentioned.  But  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  religious  controversy  is 
inevitable  where  living  faith  in  definite  truth  is 
dwelling  side  by  side  with  ruinous  error  and  practi- 
cal evils.  And  preachers  may  remember  that  contro- 
versial preaching,  properly  managed,  is  full  of  interest 
and  full  of  power. 

(4)  We  must  add  that  there  was  in  the  Refor- 
mation a  revival  of  preaching  upon  the  doctrines  of 
grace.  The  methods  of  preaching  are,  after  all,  not 
half  so  important  as  the  materials.  These  great  men 
preached  justification  by  faith,  salvation  by  grace. 
The  doctrine  of  Divine  sovereignty  in  human  salva- 
tion was  freely  proclaimed  by  all  the  Eeformers. 
However  far  some  Protestants  may  have  gone  at  a 
later  period  in  opposition  to  these  views,  yet  Protest- 
antism was  bom  of  the  doctrines  of  grace,  and  in 
the  proclamation  of  these  the  Reformation  preaching 
found  its  truest  and  highest  power.  There  are  many 
who  say  now-a-days,  "  But  we  have  changed  all  that." 
Naj,   till  human  nature  changes  and  Jesus  Christ 


118  ox   HISTORY   OF    PREACHIW^ 

cJianges,  the  power  of  the  gospel  will  still  reside  in 
the  great  truth  of  salvation  by  sovereign  grace.  Let 
the  humanitarian  and  the  ritualist  go  their  several 
ways,  but  let  us  boldly  and  warmly  proclaim  the 
truths  which  seem  old  and  yet  are  so  new  to  every 
needy  heart,  of  sovereignty  and  atonement,  of  spiritual 
regeneration  and  justification  by  faith. 

It  would  be  diflBcult  to  find  so  marked  a  contrast 
between  any  two  celebrated  contemporaries  in  all  the 
history  of  preaching  as  that  between  Luther  and 
Calvin.  Luther  (1483-1546)  was  a  broad-shoul- 
dered, broad-faced,  burly  German,  overflowing  with 
physical  strength;  Calvin  (1509-G4)  a  feeble-looking 
little  Frenchman,  with  shrunken  cheeks  and  slender 
frame,  and  bowed  with  study  and  weakness.  Lu- 
ther had  a  powerful  intellect,  but  was  also  rich  in 
sensibility,  imagination  and  swelling  passion — a  man 
juicy  with  humor,  delighting  in  music,  in  children, 
in  the  inferior  animals,  in  poetic  sympathy  with 
nature.  In  the  disputation  at  Leipzig  he  stood  up 
to  speak  with  a  bouquet  in  his  hand.  Every  constit- 
uent of  his  character  was  rich  to  overflowing,  and 
yet  it  was  always  a  manly  vigor,  without  eentimcntaj 


LUTHEK  AND   CALVIN.  119 

gush.  With  all  this  accords  one  of  his  marked  faults, 
a  prodigious  and  seemingly  reckless  extravagance, 
and  even  an  occasional  coarseness  of  language  when 
excited,  leading  to  expressions  which  ever  since  Bos- 
suet  have  been  the  stock  in  trade  of  Anti-Protestant 
controversialists,  and  some  of  which  it  is  impossible 
to  defend.  Calvin,  on  the  other  hand,  was  practically 
destitute  of  imagination  and  humor,  seeming  in  his 
public  life  and  works  to  have  been  all  intellect  and 
will,  though  his  letters  show  that  he  was  not  only  a 
good  hater,  but  also  a  warm  friend.  And  yet,  while 
so  widely  different,  both  of  these  men  were  great 
preachers.  What  had  they  in  common  to  make  them 
great  preachers  ?  I  answer,  along  with  intellect  they 
had  force  of  character,  an  energetic  nature,  will. 
A  great  preacher  is  not  a  mere  artist,  and  not  a 
feeble  suppliant,  he  is  a  conquering  soul,  a  monarch, 
a  born  ruler  of  mankind.  He  wills,  and  men  bow. 
Calvin  was  far  less  winning  than  Luther,  but  ho 
was  even  more  than  Luther  an  autocrat.  Each  of 
them  had  unbounded  seK-reliance  too,  and  yet  at 
the  same  time  each  was  full  of  humble  reliance  on 
God.  This  combination,  self-confidence,  such  a?  if 
it  existed  alone,  would  vitiate  character,  yet  checked 


120  ox    HISTOKY    OF    PREACHIXG. 

and  upborne  by  simple,  liumble,  cliild-like  faith  in 
God  this  makes  a  Christian  hero,  for  word  or  for 
work.  The  statement  could  be  easily  misunderstood, 
but  as  meant  it  is  true  and  important,  that  a  man 
must  both  believe  in  himself  and  believe  in  God,  if  he 
IB  to  make  a  powerful  impression  on  his  fellow-men, 
and  do  great  good  in  the  world.  This  force  of  char- 
acter in  both  Luther  and  Calvin  gave  great  force  to 
their  utterance.  Every  body  repeats  the  saying  aa 
to  Luther  that  **his  words  were  half  battles."  But 
of  Calvin  too  it  was  said,  and  said  by  Beza  who  a 
knew  him  so  well,  Tot  verba,  tot  pondera,  "  every 
word  weighed  a  pound," — a  phrase  also  used  of 
Daniel  Webster.  It  should  be  noticed  too  that 
both  Luther  and  Calvin  were  drawn  into  much 
connection  with  practical  affairs,  and  this  tended  to 
give  them  greater  firmness  and  positiveness  of  charac- 
ter, and  to  render  their  preaching  more  vigorous, 
as  well  as  better  suited  to  the  common  mind.  Hero  is 
another  valuable  combination  of  what  are  commonly 
reckoned  incongruous  qualities — to  be  a  thinker  and 
Btudent,  and  at  the  same  time  a  man  of  practical 
sense  and  practical  experience.  Such  were  the  grea' 
Reformers,  and  such  a  man  was  the  apostle  Paul. 


CALVIN.  12^ 

The  vast  reputation  of  Calviu  as  theologian  anJ 
church-bnilder  has  overshadowed  his  great  merits 
as  a  commentator  and  a  preacher.  With  the  pos- 
sible exception  of  Chrysostom,  I  think  there  is, 
as  already  intimated,  no  commentator  before  our 
own  century  whose  exegesis  is  so  generally  satisfac- 
tory and  60  uniformly  profitable  as  that  of  Calvin. 
And  by  all  means  use  the  original  Latin,  so  clear 
and  smooth  and  agreeable,  Latin  probably  unsur- 
passed in  literary  excellence  since  the  early  centu- 
ries. All  his  extemporized  sermons  taken  down  in 
Bhort  hand,  as  well  as  his  writings,  show  not  so 
much  great  copiousness,  as  true  command  of  lan- 
guage, his  expression  being,  as  a  rule,  singularly 
direct,  simple,  and  forcible.  The  extent  of  his 
preaching  looks  to  us  wonderful.  While  lectur- 
ing at  Geneva  to  many  hundreds  of  students  (some- 
times eight  hundred),  while  practically  a  ruler  of 
Geneva,  and  constant  adviser  of  the  Reformed  in 
all  Switzerland,  France  and  the  Netherlands,  Eng- 
land and  Scotland,  and  while  composing  his  so  ex- 
tensive and  elaborate  works,  he  would  often  preach 
every  day.  For  example,  I  notice  that  the  two 
hundred  sermons  on  Peuteronomy,  which  are  dated^ 
6 


123  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

were  all  delivered  on  week-days  in  the  course  of 
little  more  than  a  year,  and  sometimes  on  four  or 
five  iays  in  succession.  It  was  so  with  the  other 
great  Eeformers.  In  fact,  Luther  accuses  one 
preacher  of  leading  an  "  idle  life  ;  for  he  preaches 
but  twice  a  week,  and  has  a  salary  of  two  hundred 
dollars  a  year."  Luther  himself,  with  all  his  lec- 
turing, immense  correspondence,  and  voluminous 
authorship,  often  preached  every  day  for  a  week,  and 
on  fast  days  two  or  three  times. 

Luther  had  less  than  Calvin  of  sustained  in- 
tensity, but  he  had  at  times  an  overwhelming  force, 
and  his  preaching  possessed  the  rhetorical  advan- 
tage of  being  everywhere  pervaded  by  one  idea, 
that  of  justification  by  faith,  round  which  he  reor- 
ganized all  existing  Christian  thought,  and  which 
gave  a  certain  unity  to  all  the  overflowing  variety 
of  his  illustration,  sentiment  and  expression.  In 
fact,  did  he  not  carry  his  one  idea  too  far,  and  have 
not  Protestants  yet  to  recover  from  following  him 
in  this  error  ?  The  apostles  speak  of  loving  Christ 
and  knowing  Christ,  as  securing  salvation,  but 
Lather  would  in  every  case  by  main  force  reduce 


tTTTHER.  133 

it  to  believing.*  But  the  un decomposed  idea  ol 
loving  Christ  is  certainly  more  intelligible  and  prao 
tically  useful  in  the  Sunday  School,  and  so  there 
may  be  persons  who  will  be  more  benefited  by  the 
idea  of  knowing  Christ  than  by  that  of  believing  on 
him. 

Luther  shows  great  realness,  both  in  his  personal 
grasp  of  Christian  truth,  and  in  his  modes  of  pre- 
senting it.  The  conventional  decorums  he  smashes, 
and  with  strong,  rude,  and  sometimes  even  coarse 
expressions,  with  illustrations  from  almost  every 
conceivable  source,  and  with  familiar  address  to 
the  individual  hearer,  he  brings  the  truth  very  close 
home.  He  gloried  in  being  a  preacher  to  the  com- 
mon people.  Thus  he  says :  "A  true,  pious  and 
faithful  preacher  shall  look  to  the  children  and  serv- 
ants, and  to  the  poor,  simple  masses,  who  need  in- 
gtruction."     "If  one    preaches  to  the  coarse,   hard 

*  For  example,  '  That  ye.  being  rooted  and  grounded  in 
love,  may  be  able  to  compreliend  with  all  saints,'  etc.  Luther  : 
"This,  however,  is  only  to  be  attained  unto  by  faith.  Love  baa 
not  anything  to  do  in  this  matter,  although  it  ia  an  assistance 
as  being  an  evidence  whereby  we  are  assured  of  our  faith." 
So  on  John  xvii.  3,  '  That  they  may  know  thee,'  etc.  Luther  . 
V  "  For  here  you  see  the  words  are  plain,  and  any  one  may  com 
prehend  and  understand  them.  Christ  giveth  to  all  that  b« 
lieve  et«mal  life." 


124  ON"   HISTORY   OF   rKEACHlNG. 

populace,  he  must  paint  it  for  tliem,  pound  it,  chetr 
it,  try  all  sorts  of  ways  to  soften  them  ever  so  little.** 
Ho  blamed  Zwingle  for  interlarding  his  sermona 
with  Greek,  Hebrew  and  Latin,  and  praised  those 
who  preached  so  that  the  common  people  could 
miderstand.  This  subject  of  popular  preaching  has 
been  much  discussed  in  Germany  down  to  the  present 
day.  There  is  a  greater  difference  between  culti- 
vated people  and  the  masses  in  Germany  and  Eng- 
land than  in  our  own  country.  Yet  even  in  Amer- 
ica, even  in  New  England,  with  its  noble  common 
schools  and  the  omnipresent  newspaper,  the  masses 
are  comparatively  ignorant,  and  need  plain  preach- 
ing, and  we  must  not  forget  it. 

Luther  is  a  notable  example  of  intense  personality 
in  preaching.  His  was  indeed  an  imperial  person- 
ality, of  rich  endowments,  varied  sympathies  and 
manifold  experiences.  They  who  heard  him  were 
not  only  listening  to  truth,  but  they  felt  the  man. 
Those  who  merely  read  his  writings,  in  foreign  lands 
und  languages,  felt  the  man,  were  drawn  to  him,  and 
thus  drawn  to  his  gospel.  There  are  conflicting 
opinions  as  to  what  is  best  in  regard  to  the  preacher's 
personal! iy.     Some    offensively    obtrude    themselves, 


LUTHER.  128 

and  push  the  gospel  into  the  background.  Others 
think  the  ideal  is  to  put  the  gospel  alone  before 
tlie  mind,  and  let  the  preacher  be  entirely  forgotten. 
"Hide  yourself  behind  the  cross,"  is  the  phrase. 
What  is  here  intended  is  well  enough,  but  the  state- 
ment is  extreme,  if  not  misleading.  What  is  the  use 
of  a  living  preacher,  if  he  is  to  be  really  hidden,  even 
by  the  cross  ?  The  true  ideal  surely  is,  that  the 
preacher  shall  come  frankly  forward,  in  full  person- 
ality, modest  through  true  humility  and  yet  bold  with 
personal  conviction  and  fervid  zeal  and  ardent  love — 
presenting  the  gospel  as  a  reality  of  his  own  expe- 
rience, and  attracting  men  to  it  by  the  power  of  a 
living  and  present  human  sympathy — and  yet  all  the 
while  preaching  not  himself,  but  Christ  Jesus  the 
Lord.  In  the  Dresden  gallery  there  is  a  small  por- 
trait by  Titian,  of  a  brother  painter.  He  is  in  the 
foreground,  a  fine,  rugged  face,  illuminated  with  the 
light  of  genius,  while  on  one  side,  and  a  little  in  the 
background  is  the  face  of  Titian  himself,  gazing  upon 
his  friend  with  loving,  self-forgetting,  and  contagious 
admiration.  Thus  ought  we  to  stand  beside  the 
cross.  And  observe  that  with  all  his  boldness, 
Luther  often  trembled  at  the  responsibility  of  preach 


126  ON   HISTORY    OF   PREACHIKG. 

ing.  He  says  in  one  of  his  sermons,  "As  soon  as  1 
learnt  from  tbe  Holy  Scriptures  how  terror-filled  and 
perilous  a  matter  it  was  to  preach  publicly  in  the 
church  of  God    ....     there  was  nothing  I  bo 

much  desired  as  silence Nor    am    1 

now  kept  in  the  ministry  of  the  Word,  but  by  an 
overruled  obedience  to  a  will  above  my  own,  that  is, 
the  divine  will ;  for  as  to  my  own  will,  it  always 
shrank  from  it,  nor  is  it  fully  reconciled  unto  it  to 
this  hour." 

What  I  have  time  to  say  of  Luther  as  to  preaching 
must  end  with  a  paragraph  from  the  Table  Talk, 
which  makes  some  good  hits  though  very  oddly 
arranged.  "A  good  preacher  should  have  these 
properties  and  virtues  :  first,  to  teach  systematically  ; 
secondly,  he  should  have  a  ready  wit ;  thirdly,  ho 
should  be  elegant ;  fourthly,  he  should  have  a  good 
voice ;  fifthly,  a  good  memory  ;  sixthly,  he  should 
know  when  to  make  an  end  ;  seventhly,  he  should 
be  sure  of  his  doctrine ;  eighthly,  he  should  venture 
and  engage  body  and  blood,  wealth  and  honor,  in 
the  Word ;  ninthly,  he  should  suffer  himself  to  be 
mocked  and  jeered  of  every  one."  The  expression, 
"he  should  know  when  to  make  an  end,"  recalls  b 


ZWINGLE.  121 

Btatement  I  have  sometimes  made  to  students,  that 
public  speaking  may  be  summed  up  in  three  things : 
First,  have  something  to  say ;  secondly,  say  it ; 
third  and  lastly,  quit. 

As  to  the  preaching  of  the  other  leading  Reform 
ers,  I  cannot  speak  at  any  length.  Melanchthon  really 
preached  very  little.  His  lectures  in  Latin  on 
Sundays  were  designed  for  his  students.  He  did  not 
enjoy  preaching  to  miscellaneous  congregations,  and 
in  the  vulgar  tongue.  Zwiugle  (1484-1531)  was  a 
bold  and  energetic  preacher,  a  thoroughly  energetic 
man,  and  a  most  laborious  student.  Like  Luther  he 
was  very  fond  of  music,  and  would  set  his  own  Chris- 
tian songs  to  music,  and  accompany  them  on  the  lyre. 
It  is  a  German  peculiarity  that  men  have  in  every  age 
80  generally  been  practical  musicians,  and  the  neglect 
of  this  in  our  country  is  to  be  deplored.  Sing- 
ing will  obviously  be  of  very  great  profit,  in  many 
ways,  to  all  young  ministers,  and  instrumental  music 
must  not  be  considered  unmanly  or  worthless  in  face 
cf  the  fact  that  it  has  been  so  much  practiced  by  those 
great  peoples,  the  Hebrews,  the  Greeks  and  the  Ger- 
mans,    Zwingle  was  not  merely  energetic  and  ardent 


128  ON   HISTORY   OF   I'REACHING. 

but  tenderly  emotional,  as  shown  by  his  sorrowing 
tears  during  the  great  Conference  with  Luther  at 
Marburg.  Beyond  e\eu  the  other  Reformers,  he 
made  much  use  of  pullic  debates,  a  practice  which 
had  been  made  common  by  the  schoolmen.  In  the 
days  of  chivalry  and  tournaments,  the  professors  and 
students  began  to  hold  intellectual  tournaments  also, 
two  men  being  pitted  against  each  other,  or  one  man 
fixing  his  thesis,  and  undertaking  to  maintain  it 
against  all  comers.  You  remember  that  the  Eefor- 
mation  began  with  Luther's  theses  as  to  Indulgences ; 
and  through  all  the  period  of  the  Eeformation  dis- 
cussions were  frequent.  In  Switzerland  more  than 
elsewhere  these  discussions  appear  to  have  produced 
important  results.  They  seem  in  general  to  be  most 
useful  where  men  are  unsettled  in  their  opinions 
and  indisposed  to  wide  reading.  Among  us,  thuy 
have  now  almost  ceased  in  the  older  States,  but  are 
continued  with  keen  relish  in  some  parts  of  the 
"West  and  South-west.  Zwingle  had  one  qualification 
for  public  discussions,  which  has  sometimes  been  con- 
sidered particularly  effective,  viz.,  great  readiness  in  per- 
sonal abuse — as  shown,  for  example,  in  his  writings 
against  those  whom  he  scornfully  calls  the  Catabaptists. 


THE  ANABAPTIStS.  126 

Farel,  the  friend  of  Calvin,  had  a  blazing  French 
eloquence.  But  we  cannot  begin  to  enumerate. 
It  was  an  age  of  great  preachers,  an  age  that  called 
spirits  from  the  vasty  deep,  and  in  troops  they 
came.  Of  John  Knox  and  the  English  Keforma- 
tion  preaching  we  may  have  another  opportunity 
to  think. 

I  must  not  stop  without  a  word  as  to  certain 
preachers  of  that  day  who  have  been  too  much  neg- 
lected. The  Anabaptists  of  the  sixteenth  century 
have  so  thoroughly  a  bad  name  in  general  literature 
that  some  persons  would  be  surprised  at  the  inti- 
mation that  there  were  among  them  preachers  of 
great  power.  By  the  help  of  my  friend  Dr.  Howard 
Osgood,  of  Rochester  Seminary,  who  has  made  the 
history  of  the  Anabaptists  a  specialty,  I  am  able 
to  state  a  few  facts  of  interest. 

The  most  distinguished  preacher  among  the  Swisa 
and  Moravian  Baptists  was  Balthasar  Hiibmaier, 
whose  name  is  now  beginning  to  be  heard  of  again, 
and  concerning  whom  you  will  find  a  very  good  ar- 
ticle in  Herzog's  Encyclopadie.  He  was  educated 
at  the  University  of  Freiburg  in  Baiea,  and  pro- 
6* 


130  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

fessor,  A.  D.  1512,  in  the  University  of  Ingolstadt 
with  the  celebrated  Eck  as  his  colleague,  and  after- 
wai'ds  was  Cathedral  pastor  in  Regensburg.  At 
these  places  he  gained  the  fame  of  the  most  elo- 
quent man  of  his  day.  But  reading  Luther's  earlier 
works,  and  then  studying  the  apostle  Paul,  ho 
joined  the  reformed  party,  and  in  1523,  was  a  popu- 
lar preacher  in  Switzerland,  already  beginning  to 
deny  the  propriety  of  Infant  Baptism.  In  1525  he 
was  baptized.  Then  came  fierce  conflicts  with 
Zwingle  at  Zurich,  and  banishment  to  Moravia, 
where  in  two  years  he  brought  many  thousands 
into  the  rising  Baptist  churches,  which  then 
eecmed  likely  to  include  the  whole  population. 
But  Moravia  fell  into  the  hands  of  Austria,  and 
Hiibmaier  was  martyred  at  Vienna  in  1528.  A 
Reformed  contemporary,  not  a  Baptist,  called  him 
"truly  a  most  eloquent  and  most  highly  cultivated 
man."  Zwingle,  in  replying  to  Hiibmaier's  treatise 
on  Infant  Baptism,  uses  many  hard  words  as  usual, 
but  shows  great  respect  for  his  abilities.  He  calls 
Hiibmaier  *that  distinguished  Doctor,'  and  admits 
(in  a  passage  otherwise  highly  arrogant)  that  he  has 
a  greater    fa/3ulty    of    speaking  than   himself.     The 


THE  AXA13APTISTR.  131 

writings  of  Hubmaier,  which  are  diflBcult  to  obtain; 
are  said  to  be  marked  by  clearness,  directness  and 
force.  They  chiefly  treat  of  the  constitution  and  or- 
dinances of  the  church.  I  find  a  really  beautiful 
address  (A.  D.  1525)  to  the  three  churches  of  Re- 
gensburg,  Ingolstiidt  and  Freiburg,  entitled  "The 
Sum  of  a  truly  Christian  Life,"  to  be  of  the  nature 
of  a  sermon.  The  arrangement  is  good,  and  the 
divisions  distinctly  stated.  He  is  decidedly  vigor- 
ous and  acute  in  argument,  making  very  sharp 
points.  The  style  is  clear  and  lively — when  he  has 
begun  you  feel  drawn  along,  and  want  to  follow 
him.  Zwingle  bears  unintentional  testimony  to 
the  excellence,  in  one  important  respect,  of  Hiib- 
maier's  method  of  argumentation.  **  You  are  wont 
to  cry,  *I  want  no  conjectures,  bring  forward  Scrip- 
ture, make  what  you  say  plain  by  Scripture,'  etc.*' 
To  all  his  later  writings  Hiibmaier  prefixed  the 
motto,  "Truth  is  immortal;"  and  certainly  the 
hopes  he  expressed  by  this  motto  have  been  strik- 
ingly fulfilled  as  to  the  doctrine  of  religious  liberty, 
which  it  is  said  he  was  among  the  first  to  announce 
and  which  in  u  new  continent  he  had  barely  heard 
ot  has  at  last  attained  a  glorious  recognition. 


133  ON   HISTORY   OF  PREACHING. 

I  shall  merely  mention  Conrad  Grebel,  educateG 
at  Vienna,  and  for  two  years  the  leader  of  the  Swiss 
Baptists,  who  is  said  to  have  been  learned,  brilliant, 
with  great  power  over  an  audience,  an  opponent  whom 
Zwingle  feared  more  tlian  all  others.  And  there  were 
other  Baptist  preachers  in  Switzerland  and  South 
Germany,  who  were  learned  and  eloquent  men. 

In  Holland,  Mcnno  Simon,  well  known  in  Church 
History,  was  for  twenty-five  years  (1536-61)  "the 
greatest  of  all  Baptist  missionaries  in  Northern 
Europe,  establishing  hundreds  of  churches.  He 
was  a  spiritual-minded  man,  and  deeply  versed  in 
the  Bible."*  A  translation  of  his  works  has  been 
published  in  Indiana,  among  the  ''Mennonites." 
His  contemporary  and  successor,  Dirch  Phillips,  ia 
said  by  a  Roman  Catholic  writer  to  have  been  **  equal 
to  Menno  in  eloquence  and  zeal,  and  superior  in 
learning."  We  may  add  Bouwens,  a  very  apostle  in 
]Iolland  and  Belgium,  whose  diary  records  the  bap- 
tism of  near  ten  thousand  persons  baptized  by  himself, 
with  the  places ;  and  this  when  a  great  price  was  set 
on  his  head  by  the  merciless  Duke  of  Alva. 

In  conclusion,  let  us  rcrriember  that  with  the 
*  Osgood.     See  a  good  article  in  Herzog. 


PRIXTING    AND    PREACIIIXG.  133 

Reformation  began  the  free  and  wide  use  oi  printiyig 
to  aid  the  work  of  preaching.  In  a  few  years  aftei 
Luther  took  decided  position,  brief  and  pointed 
tieatises  of  his  were  scattered  through  all  Western 
and  Southern  Europe.  Colporteurs  were  employed 
especially  for  this  purpose,  besides  the  much  that 
was  done  by  private  exertion.  This  revived  and 
purified  Christianity  seized  upon  the  press  as  an  aux- 
iliary to  the  living  preacher.  Tlie  same  course  has 
been  more  or  less  pursued  ever  since,  and  notably  in 
our  own  time.  And  perhaps  few  have  even  yet  any 
just  conception  of  the  varied  and  powerful  assistance 
we  may  derive  from  printing — and  this  without  its 
being  necessary  for  each  church  to  set  up  its  own 
newspaper.  Every  now  and  then  some  people  discuss 
the  question  whether  the  press  be  not  now  more 
powerful  than  the  pulpit.  But  really  that  is  an 
unpractical  inquiry.  It  is  our  true  task  and  our 
high  privilege,  to  make  the  pulpit,  with  the  help  of  tht 
pret,tf  more  and  more  a  power  and  a  blessing. 


LECTURE  IV. 

THE  GEEAT  FRENCH  PEEACHERS. 

A  COMPLETE  history  of  Preaching  in  France  "would 
of  course  go  over  ground  to  which  we  have  hereto- 
fore made  some  reference.  Thus  in  the  medieval 
times,  Peter  the  Hermit  was  a  Frenchman,  and  so 
■was  St.  Bernard.  The  good  work  done  by  the 
"Waldensian  preachers  in  the  South  of  France  in 
the  twelfth  century,  led  the  Catholics  (us  we  saw) 
to  establish  the  Dominican  order  of  preachers. 
And  Calvin,  though  we  think  of  him  in  connection 
with  Geneva,  was  in  all  respects  a  Frenchman. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  we  have  almost  no 
accounts  of  eminent  preachers  in  France  before  the 
Middle  Ages.  And  doubtless  fuller  information 
would  show  us  that  there  were  many  men  of  power 
and  influence.  For  the  French  are  a  nation  highly 
capable  of  appreciating  and  producing  eloquence. 
The   dominant   Franks   did    not    materially    modify 


KELTIC   ELOQUENCE.  135 

the  character  of  the  old  Keltic  stock,  and  the  Kelts 
were  from  our  earliest  knowledge  of  them,  and  are 
still,  an  eloquent  race.     Caesar  describes  to  us  popu- 
lar orators  among  the  Gauls  who  must  have  spoken 
with  a  fiery  and  passionate  eloquence.     The  Gauls 
(or  Galatians)   in  Asia  Minor  received  Paul's  early 
preaching  with  unequalled  enthusiasm.     The  Scotch- 
man who  converted  the  pagan  Irish,   and  whom  all 
Ireland  reveres  as  St.     Patrick,    must    have    been, 
to  judge  from  all  accounts  given,    a    preacher    of 
great  power  over  the  hearts  of  men  ;  and  so  was  the 
Irishman  Columba,  who  two  centuries  later  preached 
from  house    to    house    throughout    Scotland.     The 
Irish   to  the  present  day  are  noted  for  a  peculiarly 
imaginative   oratory,    not    only  in    politics  wherever 
there    has    been    any    political    liberty,   but  also  in 
preaching,  notwithstanding  the  unfavorable  influence 
of  Romanism  ;    and  the  most  eloquent  preacher  in 
the   Church   of  England  at  the  present  time  is  an 
Irishman  bred  and  born,   the  Bishop    of  Peterbor- 
ough.    The   Welsh    also  have  been  famous  for  elo- 
quent   preachers.      And    everywhere,    in    Galatians, 
(Jauls,  Irish,  Welsh,  and  modern  Frenchmen,  there 
is  the  same  blazing  enthusiasm  and  mental  activity, 


136  ON   HISTOKY    OF    PREACHING. 

the  same  impulsiveness  and  prompt  excitability^ 
the  same  lively  imagination,  and  (so  far  as  we  know) 
the  same  quick  movements  and  passionate  vehemence 
in  del- very. 

But  instead  of  searching  French  history  for 
proofs  that  in  every  age  they  have  had  preachers 
not  unworthy  of  the  Keltic  blood,  we  shall  find  it 
more  instructive  to  come  at  once  to  the  Golden  Age 
of  the  French  Pulpit  Eloquence  and  French  Litera- 
ture in  general,  the  seventeenth  century,  the 
latter  half  of  which  is  dear  to  Frenchmen  as  the 
age  of  Louis  XIV.  Let  us  carefully  note  how 
thoroughly  this  period  in  France  fulfilled  the  condi- 
tions of  highly  eloquent  preaching.  And  perhaps 
this  can  be  best  managed  for  our  purpose  by  plant- 
ing ourselves  in  the  year  in  which  Bourdaloue  firsi 
preached  before  the  king,  the  year  1670  (a  little 
over  two  centuries  ago),  when  the  glorious  age  of 
Louis  the  Great  was  just  reaching  its  full  splendor.* 

The  king  himself,    the  centre  of  everything,    ia 

now  thirty-two  years  old,    his   reign   having  begun 

*  I  follow  usually  the  dates  of  the  Oxford  Tables,  from 
which  Bom«  of  the  facts  are  derived,  and  some  also  from 
Voltaire, 


AGE    OF    LOUIS   XIV.  137 

when  he  was  a  child  of  five  years.  While  every 
great  nation  around  has  heen  losing  strength, 
France  has  rapidly  gained.  Germany  must  require 
many  generations  to  recover  from  the  exhaustion 
produced  by  the  terrible  Thirty  years'  War,  which 
ended  only  twenty-two  years  ago.  Spain,  which  a 
century  ago  was  the  mistress  of  the  world,  has 
lost  Holland  and  part  of  Flanders,  and  quite 
recently  lost  Portugal,  has  made  a  damaging  peace 
with  Louis,  and  under  the  rule  of  weak  kings  and 
the  infamous  Inquisition,  has  sunk  into  national 
weakness  and  discontent  and  almost  into  ruin. 
England,  after  the  dreadful  Civil  Wars  and  the 
brief  rule  of  Cromwell,  has  now  for  ten  years  been 
persecuting  the  Nonconformists  and  endeavoring 
to  imitate  the  wretched  vices  of  Charles  II,  who 
is  but  a  pitiful  vassal  of  France.  Italy,  divided 
into  a  number  of  warring  states,  and  busy  in  the 
Levant  with  the  Turks,  has  herself  been  again  and 
again  a  battle-ground  for  the  French  and  the  Span- 
iards. Amid  this  weakness  on  every  hand,  France, 
long  so  feeble,  has  seen  her  opportunity  and  improved 
it.  Conde  and  Turenne  have  gained  many  a  splendid 
rictory  over  the  Germans  and  over  the  once  invin- 


138  ON   HISTOKT   OF 'preaching. 

cible  Spanish  infantry,  covering  themselves  and 
their  nation  with  the  military  glory  in  ^\hich 
Frenchmen  so  greatly  delight,  reviving  the  memoiy  of 
that  proud  time  v^hen  Charlemagne  the  Frenchman 
was  Emperor  of  all  Western  Europe,  and  rendering 
themselves  the  objects  of  that  enthusiastic  popular 
admiration  and  love  which  will  some  years  hence 
find  expression  in  lofty  funeral  sermons. 

At  home,  the  two  great  Cardinals  Eichelieu  and 
Mazarin  for  forty  years  carried  out  with  iron  firm- 
ness the  policy  of  Henry  IV.  and  the  Duke  of  Sully, 
steadily  weakening  the  old  feudal  nobility  and  the 
once  almost  independent  clergy,  and  concentrating 
all  power  in  the  crown,  until  fifteen  years  ago  the 
young  Louis,  wise  beyond  his  seventeen  years,  and 
conscious  of  despotic  power,  coolly  gave  his  order  to 
the  Parliament,  and  uttered  his  memorable  saying, 
"The  State — I  am  the  State."  Many  of  the  great 
uobles  had  in  the  previous  century  adopted  the 
then  powerful  and  rapidly  growing  Eeformed  re- 
ligion as  a  means  of  making  head  against  the 
crown,  being  ready  enough,  as  unscrupulous  pol- 
iticians always  are,  to  patronize  any  religion  that 
could    apparently    strengthen    their    own    political 


AGE   OF   LOUIS   XIV.  136 

power.  The  Reformed  (or  as  we  say,  Protestants) 
unwisely  accepted  the  support  and  protection  of 
these  grea^  Tiobles,  and  thus  religious  interests  became 
Bubordinate  to  political  interests.  The  successive 
religious  wars,  ending  with  the  bloody  wars  of  the 
Fronde  in  the  early  years  of  Louis,  have  gradually 
weakened  the  nobles  and  made  them  dependent  on 
the  Crown,  and  shortly  before  the  year  of  which 
we  are  speaking,  many  nominally  Eeformed  nobles 
went  over  to  the  dominant  church — as  for  exam- 
ple Turenne  himself,  who  in  1668  turned  Catholic, 
at  the  request  of  the  gracious  sovereign  who  had 
made  him  a  Marshal — and  many  from  among  the 
masses  of  the  Reformed,  long  used  to  seeking  pro- 
tection and  guidance  from  the  nobility,  began  rap- 
idly to  follow  them  into  the  conquering  Catholio 
communion,  the  church  of  the  splendid  court  and 
the  all-powerful  king.  The  work  of  the  great  Car- 
dinals has  been  well  done,  and  nine  years  ago,  in 
1661,  Mazarin  was  succeeded  by  Colbert,  the  gifted 
minister  of  Finance,  whose  financial  genius  is  now 
rapidly  enriching  the  nation  and  strengthening  the 
throne.  He  has  introduced  from  the  Low  Coun- 
tries many  new  forms  of  manufacture,  in  which  the 


140  ON   HISTORY    OF    PREACHING. 

skilful  French  fingers  and  the  exquisite  French  taste 
are  already  beginning  to  surpass  their  teachers,  and 
fast  preparing  for  the  days  when  Fashion,  the  might- 
iest of  sovereigns,  will  sit  enthroned  in  splendid 
Paris  and  rule  over  the  civilized  world.  Along 
with  manufactures  Colbert  has  built  up  a  spreading 
commerce  and  a  powerful  navy.  Together  with  trade 
in  the  East  and  West  Indies,  he  is  attempting  to 
rival  the  Spaniards  and  English  in  colonizing  Araer- 
it-a.  Some  years  ago,  Canada  was  organized  as  a 
colony,  and  not  many  years  hence  the  French  will 
go  for  the  first  time  down  the  Mississippi,  and  up 
and  down  its  stream  will  claim  a  new  and  grand 
territory,  which  after  the  great  king  they  will  name 
Louisiana.  In  connection  with  and  by  means  of 
all  these  financial  enterprises,  which  are  rapidly 
increasing  the  wealth  of  the  country,  the  acute  Min- 
ister confirms  the  triumphs  of  his  predecessors  ovei 
the  feudal  system,  by  building  up  a  wealthy  class  of 
burghers,  who  look  to  the  government  for  protec 
tion  of  business  and  property,  and  help  by  their 
financial  strength  to  make  the  king  utterly  supreme 
over  the  old  feudal  nobility.  Evil  enough  from  this 
centralization    and    this    wealth    mav    come    in    the 


AQE  OF  LOUIS   XIV.  141 

future,  but  at  present,  France  rejoices  in  her  grow* 
ing  population  and  riches,  is  stimulated  by  the  lofti« 
est  national  pride,  and  looks  with  unutterable  admir- 
ation to  him  who  seems  the  embodiment  of  all  her 
power  and  splendor  and  glory,  the  Great  Monarch. 

Besides  this  extraordinary  national  prosperity, 
and  stimulating  national  spirit,  it  is  an  age  of  pro- 
digious intellectual  activity.  In  our  year  1670,  it 
has  been  forty-four  years  since  the  death  of  Bacon, 
whose  ideas  and  methods  are  now  widely  known, 
and  twenty-eight  years  since  the  death  of  Galileo, 
shortly  after  having  (as  it  has  been  wittily  stated) 
"at  the  age  of  seventy  years,  begged  pardon  for 
being  right."  Just  forty  years  ago  died  the  great 
astronomer  Kepler,  and  young  Isaac  Newton,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-eight,  is  already  working  over 
Kepler's  laws.  Harvey,  who  discovered  the  circu- 
lation of  the  blood,  died  thirteen  years  ago,  and  ten 
years  earlier  died  Torricelli,  who  learned  the  weight 
of  the  atmosphere,  and  invented  the  barometer. 
Just  about  this  time  were  also  invented  the  air-pump, 
the  electrical  machine,  the  pendulum.  These  grand 
discoveries  and  inventions  at  once  indicate  and  pro- 
duce great  general  activity  of  mind  throughout  th« 


14S  ON   HISTORY    OF   PREACHING. 

cultivated  circles  of  Europe.  And  this  activity  ii 
Been  not  meiely  in  physical  science,  but  also  in  met- 
aphysics. It  is  twenty  years  since  the  death  of 
Descartes,  the  greatest  of  French  philosophers,  who 
applied  the  Baconian  method  of  observation  and  anal- 
ysis to  metaphysics,  and  has  become  for  France  the 
father  of  idealism  and  of  rationalism.  Spinoza  has 
already  wiitten  most  of  his  great  essays  in  Panthe- 
istic philosophy,  which  a  few  years  hence,  at  his 
early  death,  he  will  leave  behind.  Malebranche, 
the  leading  disciple  of  Descartes,  has  reached  the  age 
of  thirty-two ;  and  Leibnitz,  a  brilliant  youth  of 
twenty-four,  living  on  the  Rhine,  has  since  the  age 
of  seventeen  been  issuing  a  succession  of  remarka- 
ble treatises  on  philosophy,  law  and  politics — work- 
ing out,  among  other  things,  a  curious  project 
for  inducing  Louis  XIV.  to  leave  Germany  and  the 
Low  Countries  alone,  and  turn  his  ambitious  pro- 
jects towards  an  invasion  of  Egypt.  Hobbes  is 
still  living,  at  an  advanced  age ;  and  John  Locke, 
now  thirty-eight  years  old,  dissatisfied  with  the 
ethical  and  political  results  of  Hobbes'  development 
of  sensational  philosophy,  and  stimulated  by  the 
writings  of  Descartes,  is  profoundly    meditating  oc 


AGE   OF   LOUIS   XIV.  149 

the  faculties  of  the  human  mind  and  the  sources  ol 
human  knowledge,  and  slowly  preparing  for  his  gi*eat 
*' Essay  on  the  Human  Understanding,"  which  will 
not  appear  till  twenty  years  hence.  In  this  year, 
1670,  he  writes  an  impracticable  constitution  for 
the  American  colony  which  in  honor  of  Charles  II. 
is  called  Carolina. 

The  inquiring  and  erudite  minds  of  the  age 
are  also  drawing  together  and  beginning  to  act  in 
association.  The  English  Royal  Society  was  char- 
tered ten  years  ago  on  the  accession  of  Charles  II, 
but  had  in  fact  existed  in  the  time  of  Cromwell ; 
and  Colbert,  ''jealous  of  this  new  glory,"  has  in 
the  last  few  years  encouraged  the  formation  of  like 
societies  in  France,  the  Academy  of  Inscriptions, 
the  Academy  of  Sciences,  the  Academy  of  Music, 
and  also  the  Royal  Library. 

Besides,  there  are  admirable  Schools  of  the  highest 
order.  The  University  of  Paris  is  perhaps  no  longer 
at  the  head  of  Europe,  as  it  was  in  the  later  Middle 
Ages,  but  it  has  a  great  reputation,  and  in  Theology 
there  is  no  school  of  higher  authority  than  the 
Sorbonne.  Colleges  have  been  established  in  numer- 
ous towns  by  the  Jesuits,  who  make  teaching  a  sj)©* 


14-i  OX^   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

cialty  and  have  reduced  it  to  a  science,  and  the  volun- 
teer teaching  at  Port  Royal  was  a  few  years  ago  exert- 
ing a  potent  influence.  The  great  preachers  of  the 
age  are  all  men  of  regular  and  thorough  education. 

Along  with  all  this  activity  in  physical  and  meta- 
physical science,  and  in  education,  there  has  rapidly 
arisen  a  general  literature  of  singular  richness  and 
vigor  and  consummate  elegance — a  literature  that 
will  be  the  pride  of  France  for  centuries  to  come. 
Corneille,  who  with  all  his  literary  faults  has  more 
elevation  and  nobleness  than  any  other  French 
dramatist,  is  now  an  old  man,  and  his  works  are  all 
well  known.  Moli^re,  probably  the  foremost  writer 
of  Comedy  in  all  the  modern  world,  has  issued  nearly 
all  the  plays  that  will  be  known  as  his  chefs-d'oeuvre. 
Racine  is  still  young,  but  has  published  several  great 
tragedies,  especially  the  Andromache  and  the  Britan- 
nicus.  Numerous  satires  of  Boileau  have  been  pub- 
lished, and  every  body  is  reading  some  Fables  of  La 
Fontaine.  The  Due  de  la  Rochefoucauld  five  years 
ago  sent  forth  into  all  hands  the  Collection  of  shrewd 
and  witty  and  often  mournfully  profound  Maxims 
in  which  he  essays  to  show  that  the  motive  of  all 
human  action  is  self-love.     Mme.   de    Sevigne,    yerj 


A3E   OF   LOUIS   XIV.  146 

highly  educated  and  wonderfully  attractive  notwith- 
standing  her  lack  of  personal  beauty,  is  admired  and 
influential  in  court  circles,  and  devoutly  fond  of 
pulpit  eloquence,  and  will  begin  next  year  the  cor- 
respondence with  her  daughter  which  is  to  make  her 
the  most  famous  letter  writer  in  the  world.  Above 
all,  Pascal,  the  prince  of  French  prose-writers,  the 
marvel  of  precocity,  of  mathematical  knoM  ledge  and 
physical  discovery  and  philosophical  thought,  and 
the  deeply  humble  and  devout  Christian,  who  died 
eight  years  ago,  had  five  years  before  his  death 
published  his  "  Provincials,"  a  work  of  such  literary 
excellence  and  charm,  such  keen  and  delicious  satire, 
that  all  France  is  reading  it ;  and  even  the.  Jesuits, 
though  they  hate,  malign  and  affect  to  despise 
him,  yet  secretly  read  his  wonderful  book.  In  cou- 
Bequence  of  Pascal's  unpopularity  as  a  Jansenist, 
it  will  be  some  years  before  the  publication  of  hia 
"  Thoughts,"  a  collection  of  papers  he  has  left 
behind  him,  consisting  of  mere  fragments,  yet  rich 
in  the  profoundest  Christian  wisdom,  and  destined 
to  be  lovingly  studied  for  long  years  to  come. 

By  these  great  writers  the  French  language  haa 
been  developed  and  disciplined  into  the  very  highest 
7 


146  ON    HISTOKY   OF   PREACHING. 

excellence  of  which  it  seems  capable.  In  liquid  clear- 
ness, vivacious  movement  and  delicate  grace  it  is 
unsurpassed  among  ancient  or  modern  tongues, 
while  not  equal  to  Greek  or  to  English  in  flexibility 
and  in  energy.  Only  a  few  years  later  than  1670 
it  will  supersede  the  Latin  as  the  language  of  Euro- 
pean diplomacy. 

In  Art  as  well  as  in  Literature  the  age  is  marked 
by  great  activity  and  decided  excellence.  It  is  but 
forty  years  since  the  death  of  Rubens  and  Van  Dyk, 
while  Rembrandt  is  still  living  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
eight,  and  Murillo,  in  Spain,  at  about  the  same  age. 
The  great  French  painter,  Poussin,  died  seven  years 
ago,  and  Claude  Lorraine,  who  will  long  continue  to 
be  regarded  as  the  foremost  of  landscape  painters,  ia 
seventy  years  old.  The  art  of  painting  has  just 
reached  its  height  of  power  and  popularity  in  France  ; 
of  all  the  great  French  Academies  the  earliest  was  the 
Academy  of  Painting,  established  in  1648.  In  Archi- 
tecture, Paris  already  boasts  the  Louvre,  the  Palais 
Royal,  and  many  other  noble  structures  ;  and  there  ia 
a  youth  of  twenty-three,  named  Mansard,  who  will  add 
greatly  to  the  architectural  glories  of  Paris  and  of 
Versailles,  and  will  hand  down  bis  name  to  a  curioui 


GREAT   FREXCH    PIIEACHEES.  147 

immortality  in  connection  with  a  peculiar  style  of  rool 
which  he  has  invented 

We  thus  perceive  that  when  Bourdaloue  first 
preached  before  the  king,  in  1670,  it  was  an  age  well 
suited  to  the  attainment  of  excellence  in  anything  that 
belongs  to  the  realm  of  thought  or  of  art.  The  nation 
was  powerful,  glorious,  wealthy  and  vigorously  gov- 
erned. A  strong  sentiment  of  nationality  fostered 
national  literature  in  every  department.  Startling 
progress  in  physical  science  and  novelties  in  metaphys- 
ics were  stirring  men's  minds.  A  popular  despotism 
left  no  room  for  political  activity  or  aspiration, 
while  a  grand  outburst  of  general  literature  had 
awakened  an  excited  interest.  It  was  an  Augustan 
age. 

And  certain  peculiar  circumstances  stimulated 
French  Catholics  at  that  time  to  the  pursuit  of  pulpit 
eloquence. 

One  of  these  was  the  fact  that  the  Keformed,  or 
Protestants  in  France  had  long  possessed  able  and 
eloquent  preachers.  The  indefatigable  Jesuits,  organ- 
ized to  contend  against  Protestantism  in  every  way, 
perceived,  now  that  the  Civil  Wars  were  over,  that  it 
yas  desirable  to  rival  the  Protestants  in  preaching, 


148  ON"   HISTORY    OF    PKEACHING. 

and  began  to  use  all  their  immense  influence  in  the 
encouragement  of  pulpit  eloquence. 

Another  stimulating  circumstance  was  the  rise  oi 
the  Jansenists,  proclaiming  much  the  same  truths  that 
we  call  the  ''doctrines  of  grace,"  distinguished  for 
learning,  and  educational  influence,  for  deep  piety  and 
literary  power.  In  the  famous  schools  at  Port  Royal 
were  taught  such  men  as  Tillemont,  the  Church  His- 
torian, and  the  poet  Eacine.  Among  the  teachers  was 
De  Saci,  who  made  the  French  version  of  the  Bible 
which  has  taken  fast  hold  on  the  popular  heart,  and 
Arnauld,  the  fruitful  and  powerful  polemic  ;  and  there 
was  not  a  Jesuit  in  all  France  who  did  not  smart  and 
burn  under  the  delicate  and  stinging  sarcasms  of  the 
Port  Royalist  Pascal. 

Now  the  Jansenists  did  not  particularly  culti- 
vate eloquence.  But  the  Jansenists  of  Port  Royal 
had  great  power  at  Court.  And  the  shrewd  Jesu- 
its, looking  around  for  every  means  of  gaining  the 
superiority  over  these  hated  rivals,  perceived  that 
much  might  be  done  through  the  pencliant  of  the 
king  for  eloquent  preaching. 

This  was  the  most  singular  of  all  the  circnm- 
stances  I  have  referred  to  as  stimulating  the  Frenob 


GREAT   FREJTCH    PREACHERS.  149 

Catholic  preaching  of  that  age,  the  fact  that  Louia 
XIV.  so  greatly  delighted  in  pulpit  eloquence.  It 
was  a  curious  idiosyncrasy.  He  not  merely  took 
pleasure  in  orations  marked  by  imagination,  passion 
and  elegance,  as  a  good  many  monarchs  have  done, 
but  he  wanted  earnest  and  kindling  appeals  to  the 
conscience,  real  preaching.  In  fact,  Louis  was  in 
his  own  way  a  very  religious  man.  He  tried  hard 
to  serve  God  and  Mammon,  and  Ashtoreth  to  boot. 
His  preachers  saw  that  he  listened  attentively,  that 
his  feelings  could  be  touched,  his  conscience  could 
sometimes  be  reached.  They  were  constantly  hop- 
ing to  make  him  a  better  man,  and  through  him 
to  exert  a  powerful  influence  for  good  upon  the 
Court  and  the  nation.  Thus  they  had  the  highest 
possible  stimulus  to  zealous  exertions.  And  although 
they  never  made  Louis  a  good  man,  yet  his  love  for 
preaching,  and  for  preaching  that  powerfully  stirred 
the  Boul,  brought  about  this  remarkable  result,  that 
it  became  the  fashion  of  that  brilliant  Court  to 
attend  church  with  eager  interest,  and  to  admire 
preachers  who  were  not  simply  agreeable  speakera 
but  passionately  in  earnest.  Not  a  few  in  the  court 
circle  were  atriTing    like   the  king  to  be    at  onca 


150  ON    HISTORY    OF    FKEACHING. 

worldly  and  religious,  some  were  truly  devout,  but 
everybody  recognized  that  it  was  "quite  the  thing" 
to  be  an  admirer  of  pulpit  eloquence.  I  know  of 
but  one  other  example  in  the  history  of  preaching  in 
which  this  was  the  height  of  the  fashion  in  a  splen- 
did and  wicked  court.  That  other  instance  is 
Constantinople,  at  the  time  when  Gregory  Nazian- 
zen  and  afterwards  Chrysostom  preached  there ; 
and  we  remember  how  brief  and  unsatisfactory  was 
their  career  in  the  great  capital.  Here  at  Paris  the 
experiment  lasted  longer.  And  notice  that  as  most 
of  the  hearers  really  went  only  because  it  was  fash- 
ionable, and  must  have  their  taste  gratified,  and 
as  the  French  taste  for  literature  and  art  was  now 
Tery  highly  cultivated,  so  the  great  court  preach- 
ers, while  intensely  earnest,  must  also  be  literary 
artists  of  the  highest  order. 

Such  were  the  general  and  special  conditions  undei 
irhich  the  Catholic  pulpit  attained — under  the  reign 
of  Louis  XIV.  and  under  that  reign  alone — such  ex- 
traordinary power  and  splendor. 

Let  us  now  briefly  note  the  principal  preachers, 
lK)th  Protestant  and  Catholic,  of  that  epoch.     We  inaj 


GEEAT  FEEXCH  PKEACHEES.         161 

divide  into  three  periods  :  (1)  The  period  before  Bos- 
Buet,  (2)Bossuet  and  Bourdaloue  and  their  contempo- 
raries, (3)Massillon  and  Saurin. 

In  the  two  generations  preceding  the  career  of 
Bossuet,  we  find  the  French  Catholic  pulpit  at  a  very 
low  stage.  Kecent  writers  have  shown  that  the  Cath- 
olic preachers  of  that  time  consisted  of  two  classes. 
Some,  rhetorical  and  full  of  ancient  learning  but  des- 
titute of  devoutness,  mingled  paganism  and  Christi- 
anity, even  illustrating  the  Passion  of  Christ  by  the 
sacrifice  of  Iphigenia,  the  bravery  with  which  Mucius 
Scevola  plunged  his  hand  into  the  flames,  and  the 
mourning  of  the  Romans  over  the  death  of  Julius 
CsBsar.  A  later  French  writer  said  of  them,  "  One 
needed  prodigious  knowledge  in  order  to  preach  so 
badly."  Others,  rude  and  vulgar,  appealed  to  the 
tastes  and  passions  of  the  ignorant,  very  much  after 
the  fashion  of  what  we  call  hardshell  preachers.  Thus, 
as  it  has  been  said,  "The  court  preachers  ruined  reli- 
gion by  adapting  it  to  the  taste  of  the  ieau  monde, 
while  the  vulgar  haranguers  ruined  it  also  by  adapt- 
'  ing  it  to  the  taste  of  the  multitude."  There  were 
of  course  some  exceptions.  Voltaire  mentions  one 
preacher,  Lingendes,  about  1630,  aud  mentions  him 


152  ON   HISTOKY    OF    Fr.EACniN"G. 

US  he  does  so  many  things,  with  a  malicious  pnrposa 
This  Lingendes  left  among  his  manuscripts  some  good 
funeral  sermons,  and  Voltaire  says  that  Flechier,  in 
his  funeral  discourse  for  Marshal  Turenne,  borrowed 
from  one  of  these  his  text,  the  entire  exordium,  and 
several  considerable  passages  besides.  It  has  been 
recently  shown  that  Bourdaloue  also  borrows  from  the 
same  preacher  some  ideas  and  an  occasional  short  pas- 
sage, and  that  some  of  Bourdaloue's  plans  in  Pane- 
gyrics resemble  those  of  P.  Senault,  a  preacher  then 
much  in  vogue  for  ornate  erudition  and  rhetoric. 

But  the  Reformed  or  Protestant  pulpit  of  that 
period  was,  as  I  have  already  stated,  occupied  by  some 
really  able  men,  whose  sermons  had  such  power  and 
literary  merit  as  to  be  published  and  widely  read. 
These  men,  long  overshadowed  by  the  celebrated 
Catholic  and  Protestant  preachers  of  the  next  genera- 
tions, have  received  tardy  justice  from  the  noble  work 
of  Vinet,  *'  History  of  Preaching  among  the  Reformed 
of  France  in  the  seventeenth  century,"  a  work  con- 
taining just  such  biographical  notices,  representative 
extracts  and  critical  estimates  as  one  desires  to  have, 
and  a  model  which  I  trust  some  of  those  present  may 
one  day  follow  in  depicting  important  periods  in  the 


FKEXCH    PROTX.STANT    PREACHERS.  1.63 

history  of  the  English  and  American  pulpit.  Draw- 
ing upon  Viuet,  let  me  briefly  mention  three  or  four 
of  these  men,  who  show  conclusively  that  the  Protest- 
ant preachers  in  this  first  half  of  the  century  were  far 
in  advance  of  the  Catholic  preachers. 

Du  Moulin  (Miller),  1568-1658,  was  a  famous 
preacher  in  Paris  and  afterwards  at  Sedan.  He  had 
been  educated  in  England,  and  professor  of  philosophy 
in  Scotland.  "While  pastor  in  Paris,  an  attempt  was 
made  by  James  I.  of  England  to  use  him  in  a  plan  for 
uniting  the  French  and  English  Protestants  into  one 
church.  Banished  for  these  political  complications,  he 
took  refuge  at  Sedan  (which  did  not  then  belong  to 
France),  and  lived  there  as  professor  of  theology  and 
pastor.  Du  Moulin  published  more  than  seventy-five 
works,  including  ten  volumes  of  sermons.  He  seems 
not  to  have  been  a  man  of  the  highest  genius,  but  full 
of  vigor  and  good  sense,  powerful  in  controversy, 
practical  and  pointed.  He  was  regarded  by  the 
Catholics  as  their  most  formidable  antagonist,  and  his 
works  long  continued  to  be  bulwarks  of  Protestantism. 
Fenelon  undertook  to  refute  one  of  them,  near  the 
close  of  the  century.  The  style  of  Du  Moulin  is 
marked  by  the  homeliness  and  brusque  freedom  be- 
7* 


154  ON"  HISTORY   OF   PEEACHING. 

longing  to  what  French  critics  cull  the  Oallic  period 
of  their  language,  before  the  men  of  Louis  XIV.  had 
reduced  it  to  an  elegant  bondage.  And  he  was  pur- 
posely simple  in  the  arrangement  of  discourses,  and 
direct  and  downright  in  utterance,  because  he  re- 
garded that  as  the  duty  of  a  preacher  of  the  gospel — 
a  view  which  certainly  contains  important  elements 
of  truth. 

Faucheur  (1585-1657)  was  a  man  of  culture  and 
taste,  and  "essentially  a  preacher."  He  wrote  a 
treatise  on  Oratorical  Delivery,  which  is  said  to  be 
elegant  in  expression  and  full  of  wisdom.  And  yet, 
while  a  careful  student  of  the  art  of  preaching,  his 
own  preaching  was  direct  and  simple.  Surely  this  is 
as  it  should  be.  Faucheur  published  eight  volumes  of 
sermons.  His  style  is  remarkable  for  movement. 
From  beginning  to  end  of  the  discourses  he  "seems 
never  to  touch  the  ground."  There  is  never  a  moment 
of  distraction  or  cessation,  but  he  presses  right  on. 
Now  this  may  be  an  excellence,  but  may  be  a  fault ; 
and  it  is  a  matter  in  regard  to  which  Americans  of  to- 
day are  in  some  danger  of  fault,  being  so  restless  and 
excitable.  Good  preaching  must  have  movement,  but 
not  uniform  in  velocity  or  on  the  same  level.     If  a  dia- 


PATJCHBtJR.  154 

course  is  to  be  highly  impassioned  anywhere,  it  cannot 
be  equally  impassioned  everywhere.  Study  the  great 
musical  compositions — what  variety  as  to  rapidity  of 
movement,  and  as  to  passion.  So  oratory  requires  a 
basis  of  repose,  with  alternations  of  passion  and  quiet, 
of  more  rapid  and  less  rapid  movement.  Yet  some  of 
our  preachers  and  Anniversary  speakers  seem  to  think, 
and  some  hearers  seem  to  agree  with  them,  that  one 
must  go  like  the  fast  mail  trains.  We  do  not  give  a 
man  a  chance  to  be  really  eloquent,  if  we  require  him 
to  be  always  rapid,  if  we  are  too  restless  to  tolerate 
repose. 

Faucheur  was  a  master  of  language.  Vinet  main- 
tains that  he  anticipated  Pascal  in  using  what  was 
destined  to  become  the  modern  French  ;  in  know- 
ing how,  "at  that  moment  of  crisis,  to  choose  in 
the  ancient  tongue  what  the  future  was  going  to 
preserve,  and  amid  the  numerous  new  expressions 
those  which  the  future  was  going  to  adopt."  Pascal 
has  the  glory  of  having  fixed  the  language.  "  He 
did  it,  not  by  introducing  new  words  or  constructions, 
but  by  giving  the  seal  of  his  genius  to  a  language 
which  existed  already,  and  which  we  find  in  hif 
earlier  contemporary,  Faucheur." 


156  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACIHINQ. 

A  professor  of  philosophy  at  the  age  of  eigk 
fcoen,  and  called  when  very  young  to  a  leading 
pulpit  near  Paris,  was  Mestrezat,  1592-1657,  ol 
whom  it  is  said  by  Bayle,  a  suflBciently  impartial 
critic*  ''There  are  no  sermons  that  contain  a  sub- 
limer  theology  than  those  which  he  preached  on  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews." 

Omitting  several  others,  let  us  notice  DailU, 
1594-1670,  whose  little  work  "On  the  right  use 
of  the  Fathers"  became  very  popular,  and  continues 
to  be  valued  to  the  present  day.  He  published 
twenty  volumes  of  sermons,  which  show  that  while 
not  a  highly  eloquent  man,  he  was  an  able  reasoner, 
full  of  good  sense,  and  with  a  familiar,  neat  and 
flowing  style.  He  was  the  first  Frenchman  whose 
controversial  religious  works  ever  became  popular, 
and  the  first  Protestant  whose  literary  merits  are 
known  to  have  been  recognized  among  the  Catho- 
lics. 

Balzac,  a  literary  man  of  distinction  (1592- 
1654),  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  French 
Academy,  and  who  has  left  some  excellent  prose, 
appears  to  have  greatly  admired  Daille.  He  speaks 
in  a  letter  of  a  visit  received  from  him,  in  wbicb 


DAILLE.  157 

Daille  "  said  such  good  things  and  said  ihem  bo 
well  that  I  assure  jou  no  conversation  ever  satis- 
fied me  more  than  that,  nor  left  in  my  mind  more 
agreeable  images."  In  another  letter  he  speaks  in 
the  strongest  terms  of  Daille's  sixth  sermon  on  the 
Resurrection,  saying,  "What  an  excellent  pro- 
duction I  how  worthy  of  the  primitive  church  I 
How  powerful  the  preacher  is  in  persuasion  ! 
and  how  convincing  are  his  proofs !....!  have 
never  read  anything  more  rational  and  more 
judicious  ! " 

Now  it  may  be  observed  that  these  able  and 
popular  Protestant  preachers  all  flourished  before 
Bossuet  began  his  career,  and  that  Daille,  the  latest 
of  those  mentioned,  died  in  the  year  1670,  in  which 
Bourdaloue  first  preached  before  the  king.  Each  of 
them  preached  for  many  years  in  Paris,  and  their  nu- 
merous and  spirited  controversial  writings,  together 
with  the  number  of  Protestant  nobility  who  at- 
tended their  ministrations,  must  have  drawn  to  them 
the  constant  notice  of  the  Catholic  teachers  and 
preachers. 

I  think  it  follows  not  only  that  there  were  eminent 
Protestant  preachers  before  the  outburst  of  Catholic 


158  ON  HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

eloquence,  which  is  manifest/  but  that  their  abilitj 
and  popularity  must  ha^e  stimulated  the  Catholics  to 
rivalry. 

We  now  reach  the  great  Catholic  preachers,  Bos- 
Buet  and  Bourdaloue.  Of  these,  every  one  among  us 
has  some  knowledge,  and  I  shall  attempt  only  to  pre- 
sent points  of  special  interest  and  instruction. 

Bossuet  (1627-1704)  was  of  good  family,  and 
reared  in  a  house  full  of  books,  of  which  he  early  be- 
came passionately  fond,  delighting  in  Latin  and  Greek 
literature.  One  day,  in  the  library,  the  boy  came 
across  a  copy  of  the  Bible,  which  he  had  never  read. 
It  was  open  at  Isaiah,  and,  fascinated  with  the  sub- 
lime poetry,  he  went  on  eagerly  reading,  and  at  length 
burst  forth  and  read  aloud  to  his  father  and  uncle, 
who  had  been  talking  politics,  and  who  now  "listened, 
half  awe-struck,  to  the  boyish  reciter."    From  thii 

>  Compare  the  dates  : 

Da  Moulin  1568—1658. 
Faucheur  1585—1657. 
Mestrezat  1592—1657. 
Daillo  1594—1670. 
Claude  1619—1687.  Bossuet  1627—1704. 

Dq  Bobc  1623—1692.  Bourdaloue  1632—1704 

Fenelon  1651—1715. 
Saurin  1677—1730.  MasBillon  1GG3— 1743. 


B08SUET.  1511 

time  the  book  he  most  loved  wis  the  Bible.  Through 
life  he  always  carried  a  Bible  with  him  on  his  jour- 
neys, and  almost  every  day,  his  secretary  says,  made 
fresh  notes  on  the  margin.  He  knew  by  heart  almost 
the  entire  text  (for  he  had  a  prodigious  memory),  and 
yet  seemed  always  to  read  with  as  much  attention  and 
interest  as  if  he  had  never  read  it  before.  His  preach- 
ing abounds  in  felicitous  Scripture  quotation  and 
remark.  And  who  can  tell  how  much  this  passion  for 
Scripture,  beginning  with  Isaiah,  did  to  foster  his  elo- 
quence— to  develop  that  chastened  splendor,  that  sub- 
lime but  subdued  magnificence  of  imagery  and  diction, 
which  makes  him  the  very  perfection,  the  beau  ideal 
of  French  eloquence  ?  This  story  of  his  finding  the 
Bible  might  remind  one  of  Luther  ;  and  it  is  to  be 
noticed  that  these  greatest  of  Catholic  preachers  all 
showed  loving  familiarity  with  the  Bible.  But  the 
difference  also  is  great  and  characteristic.  Luther 
found  Eomans,  and  finally  learned  from  it  justifica- 
tion by  faith ;  Bossuet  found  the  book  of  Isaiah,  and 
was  fascinated  by  its  poetry.  And  through  life  this  dif- 
ference was  maintained.  Bossuet  drew  from  the  Biblo 
sublime  sentiments  ;  Luther  drew  from  it  the  central 
truths,  the  very  life-blood,  of  the  gospel  of  salvation. 


160  ON   HISTORY   OF   PEEACHINQ. 

At  fifteen  Bossuet  was  profoundly  studying  al 
a  college  in  Paris  tlie  philosophy  of  Descartes, 
whose  writings  were  just  becoming  generally  known, 
he  being  thirty  years  older  than  Bossuet. 

At  sixteen  he  maintained  a  "thesis  of  philosophy  * 
with  such  distinguished  success,  that  he  received  the 
foolish  invitation  to  come  suddenly,  at  11  p.  m., 
to  a  house  in  Paris  which  was  a  centre  of  literary 
fashion,  and  there  before  a  brilliant  audience  to 
preach  upon  a  text  assigned.  The  result  made  him 
at  once  a  celebrity.  All  this  was  very  unhealthy, 
but  it  shows  the  kind  of  artificial  relish  for  pulpit 
eloquence  which  already  (1641)  pervaded  the  court 
circle,  and  what  sort  of  atmosphere  was  breathed 
by  these  great  preachers.  Some  other  young  men 
had  become  popular  preachers  in  Paris  before  tak- 
ing orders,  and  Bossuet  was  saved  from  this  by  the 
advice  of  a  bishop,  who  urged  him  to  turn  away 
from  such  premature  popularity  and  become  mature 
in  culture  and  character  before  he  preached  much 
in  the  capital.  This  was  doubtless  the  turning- 
point  of  Bossuet's  career,  which  decided  that  he 
WHS  not  to  be  the  meteor  of  a  moment  but  an  abid- 
og  luminaiy.     How  often  are  brilliant  young  men 


B088UET.  161 

Bpoiled  by  the  applause  bestowed  on  a  few  early 
efforts — silly  admirers  persuading  them  that  their 
gifts  lift  them  above  all  ordinary  dependence  on 
training  and  experience.  It  is  precisely  such  men 
who  most  imperatively  need  thorough  discipline. 

Bossuet  finally  graduated  at  twenty-one,  making 
a  remarkable  address  in  the  presence  of  the  great 
Prince  of  Conde,  who  from  that  time  was  his  friend. 
He  spent  some  years  of  faithful  labor  as  archdea- 
con of  Metz,  (how  strangely  sound  these  names, 
Metz  and  Sedan,  after  recent  occurrences,)  and  at 
the  age  of  thirty-three  began  to  preach  before  the 
king.  For  the  next  ten  years  he  preached  regu- 
larly in  Paris,  and  often  before  the  court.  Then 
Bourdaloue  came ;  Bossuet  was  made  bishop  of 
Meaux,  and  afterwards  seldom  preaclied  in  Paris,  ex- 
cept his  great  Funeral  Orations.  I  cannot  speak  of 
his  subsequent  work  as  instructor  to  the  Dauphin, 
for  whose  use  he  wrote  the  Discourse  on  Universal 
History,  the  first  attempt  at  a  Philosophy  of  History. 
Nor  of  his  great  work  on  the  Variations  of  Protest- 
antism, probably  the  most  effective  polemic  against 
Protestantism  that  has  ever  been  written — acute, 
ftdroit,  a  trifle  unscrupulous,  and  in  style  most  attractive. 


162  ON"   HISTORY   OF   rREACHTNG. 

BosBuet  was  capable,  as  he  had  shown  when  a 
lad,  of  absolutely  improvising  with  great  power, 
but  he  was  very  unwilling  to  preach  without  some 
written    preparation.     Most    of    his     sermons     were 

preached    from    a    brief    sketch,    often    in  pencil 

jotting  down  the  "points,  and  the  prominent  les- 
sons he  wished  to  teach."  Some  of  them  were  writ- 
ten and  rewritten,  with  the  greatest  cai-e,  and  then 
recited.  Yet  he  very  earnestly  condemned  those 
who  in  preparing  a  sermon  think  more  of  "its 
after  effects  in  print  "  than  of  its  effect  in  the  act 
of  preaching. 

He  possessed  in  the  highest  degree  the  physical 
requisites  to  eloquence — having  a  fine,  in  fact  a 
strikingly  handsome  and  majestic  person,  with  a 
voice  powerful  and  pleasing,  and  perfect  grace  of 
manner.  His  style  is  the  perfection  of  French,  the 
glory  of  French  literature — clear,  vivid,  drawing 
you  on  from  beginning  to  end,  with  skilful  variety 
in  topic,  imagery,  and  passion  or  repose  of  expres- 
sion, and  throughout  a  grace,  a  felicity,  a  charming 
elegance,  that  in  all  the  world  has  scarcely  been 
rivalled.  A  gifted  pupil  of  mine  once  said,  "  I  read 
Bossuet  with    admiring  despair."    This    is    not    an 


BOSSUET.  163 

unhealthy  feeling  at  the  first  blush  of  acquaintance, 
for  it  may  be  presently  followed  by  admiring  study, 
not  with  the  hope  of  rivalling,  but  with  longing  to 
enjoy  more  fully,  and  to  learn  sweet  lessons  of 
refined  taste,  and  loye  of  the  truly  beautiful  in 
literary  art. 

Yet  I  cannot  concur  in  the  opinion  now  almost 
universal  among  French  critics,  that  Bossuet  is  the 
greatest  of  their  preachers.  I  think  that  honor 
belongs  to  Bourdaloue  (1632-1704),  whom  the 
French  now  place  even  lower  than  Massillon. 
Bourdaloue  appeals  especially  to  the  intellect  and 
the  conscience,  aud  while  also  highly  imaginative 
and  impassioned  he  is  not  in  these  respects  equal  to 
the  others.  Bossuet  appeals  especially  to  the  imagi- 
nation and  the  taste,  and  so  the  most  characteristic 
and  the  most  popular  of  his  discourses  are  the  Funeral 
Orations,  in  which  the  requisites  are  graceful  narra- 
tion, high-wrought  imagery  and  delicate  sentiment. 
These,  together  with  his  charming  style,  are  what 
the  average  French  writer  of  to-day  most  highly 
appreciates.  It  is  precisely  in  these  things,  as  Been 
in  his  Funeral  Orations  and  Panegyrics,  that  Bourda- 
loue is  least    successful.     Bossuet    is    also    honored 


164  ox   HISTOET   OF  PEEACHING. 

by  the  modern  litterateur  because  of  the  great  and 
lasting  distinction  of  his  other  works,  while  Bourda- 
loue  has  left  almost  nothing  but  sermons.  Massillon, 
on  the  other  hand,  has  marvellous  power  in  touching 
the  feelings,  in  awakening  tender  emotions,  together 
with  great  clearness,  ease  and  beauty  of  style. 
Secular  critics  relish  that  which  excites  emotion, 
which  is  sweetly  pathetic  or  awe-inspiring,  much 
more  than  that  which,  through  convictions  of  the 
intellect,  makes  its  stern  demand  on  the  conscience. 
These  considerations  may  account  for  the  fact  that 
Buch  a  change  has  occurred  in  the  judgment  of 
critics.  Their  own  contemporaries  regarded  Bour- 
daloue  as  decidedly  superior  to  Bossuet. 

Bourdaloue's  father  was  a  lawyer,  of  good  family, 
and  a  gifted  speaker.  The  son  was  educated  at  a 
Jesuit  college,  and  naturally  became  a  Jesuit  not- 
withstanding his  fathei*'s  opposition.  In  his  studies 
he  showed  a  special  talent  for  mathematics,  which 
easily  connects  itself  with  the  prominence  of  analysis 
and  argument  in  his  preaching.  After  graduating, 
he  was  directed,  according  to  the  wise  Jesuit  usage, 
to  spend  some  years  in  teaching,  which  is  often  a 
particularly  good  preparation    for  the  life-work  of 


BOURDALOUE.  165 

preaching.  He  first  taught  grammar,  classic  literal 
ture  and  rhetoric,  afterwards  philosophy,  and  finally 
theology.  During  this  period,  he  wrote  a  brief  trea- 
tise on  Ehetoric.  For  ten  years,  including  the 
later  years  of  his  teaching,  he  preached  as  a  sort 
of  home  missionary.  While  thus  preaching  at 
Rouen,  his  sermons  drew  great  crowds,  and  the 
Jesuit  authorities  began  to  understand  his  power 
and  value.  A  Jesuit  associate  says :  "  All  the 
mechanics  left  their  shops,  and  the  merchants  their 
business,  the  lawyers  left  the  palace  and  the  doctors 
their  patients."  And  he  good-humoredly  adds  : 
**  For  my  part,  when  I  preached  there  the  next  year, 
I  put  everything  straight  again;  nobody  left  his 
business  any  more." 

So  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven,  after  this  long 
course  of  study,  teaching  and  provincial  preaching, 
Bourdaloue  is  brought  to  Paris.  In  a  few  months 
"we  hear  that  the  church  overflows,  and  a  caustio 
letter-writer  adds  that  "  these  good  Fathers  of  the 
Society  proclaim  him  as  an  angel  descended  from 
heaven."  They  see  that  here  is  a  man  who  will  do 
them  honor,  and  strengthen  their  position  in  the 
rivalry  with  the  Jansenists.     The   next  year,   1670, 


166  ON   HISTORY   OF   PKEACHING. 

he  preached  before  the  king,  and  Madame  de  Sevign6j 
who  was  from  first  to  last  his  ardent  admirer,  sayi 
he  acquitted  himself  "diyincly."  For  thirty-four 
years  from  that  time  Bourdaloue  was  the  leading 
court-preacher,  only  in  the  last  five  years  outshone 
by  young  Massillon.  He  preached  the  Advent  and 
Lent  series  by  turns  before  the  king  and  in  the  prin- 
cipal parishes  in  Paris,  in  the  former  case  "making 
the  courtiers  tremble,"  as  we  are  told  by  Madame 
de  Sevigne,  and  in  the  parish  churches  "attracting 
such  crowds  that  the  carriages  were  coming  for 
hours  in  advance,  and  trade  was  interrupted  in  the 
neighboring  streets."  He  also  frequently  preached 
in  the  humble  village  churches,  and  it  is  said  that 
the  people  were  astonished  at  the  simplicity  of  his 
language,  and  would  say,  "  Is  this  the  famous  Paris 
preacher  ?  Why,  we  understood  all  he  said."  A 
like  story  is  told  of  Tillotson,  of  Archibald  Alexander, 
and  of  various  others. 

Bourdaloue,  as  already  observed,  is  remarkable 
for  profound  thought  and  forcible  argument.  Vol- 
taii'e  says,  "  He  appears  to  wish  rather  to  convince 
than  to  touch  the  feelings  ;  and  he  never  dreams  of 
pleasing."    And  yet  he  does  please,  in  a  high  degree, 


BOUKDALOUE.  167 

and  does  sometimes  deeply  move.  Is  not  this  a 
preaclier  of  the  highest  order — occupied  with  noble 
thoughts,  aiming  to  move  through  instruction 
and  conviction,  and  pleasing  without  an  effort,  and 
without  diverting  attention  from  truth  aud  duty  ? 

It  is  especially  in  treating  moral  subjects  that 
Bourdaloue  is  a  model.  There  had  been  no  preach- 
ing of  great  merit  in  this  respect  since  Basil  and 
Chrj'sostom,  and  perhaps  no  one  in  later  times  has 
treated  moral  subjects  in  so  instructive  and  admirable 
a  manner  as  Bourdaloue.  He  analyzes  the  topic 
with  conspicuous  ability,  and  depicts  with  a  master 
hand  the  beauty  of  virtuous  living,  and  the  terrible 
nature  and  consequences  of  vice.  It  is  interesting 
to  compare  his  pictures  of  life  with  those  of  his  con- 
temporary Moli^re,  the  latter  presenting  always  the 
ludicrous  side,  which  entertains  but  seldom  greatly 
profits,  while  the  preacher,  with  his  mind  all  on 
sin  and  eternity  and  God,  will  not  let  you  think  of 
vice  as  amusing,  but  makes  you  shudder  at  its  wick- 
edness and  its  awful  results.  There  is  no  more 
remarkable  example  of  Bourdaloue's  excellence 
in  this  respect  than  his  sermon  on  Impurity.  At 
any  time  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  treat  thii 


1G8  ON"   HISTOET   OF    PREACHING. 

Bubject  in  that  licentious  capital  and  court,  with 
that  shameful  example  in  the  king  himself,  but 
there  were  special  difficulties  at  the  moment. 
There  had  recently  been  discovered,  in  the  case 
of  a  countess,  a  series  of  the  most  frightful  poison- 
ings and  other  crimes,  in  connection  with  the 
most  shameless  and  incredible  debauchery.  All 
Paris  shuddered.  It  was  then  that  Bourdaloue 
spoke,  with  a  boldness  that  amazes  and  almost 
alarms  us,  and  yet  without  a  touch  of  real  indelicacy, 
without  a  word  to  awaken  prurient  curiosity. 
There  are  many  other  instructive  examples  among 
his  numerous  discourses  on  subjects  of  morality. 
It  has  appeared  to  me  that  few  preachers  treat  this 
class  of  subjects  with  decided  skill,  or  so  frequently 
as  is  to  be  desired  ;  and  I  think  Bourdaloue  is  in 
this  regard  eminently  worthy  of  early  and  careful 
study.  If  I  might  add  a  slight  suggestion,  it  would 
be  as  follows :  To  eulogize  virtues  is  often  more 
useful  than  to  assail  vices.  And  in  attempting  to 
depict  vices,  have  a  care  of  two  things :  (1)  That 
you  do  not  seem  to  know  more  of  these  matters  than 
a  preacher  ought  to  know  ;  (3)  that  you  do  not  excite 
curiosity  and  amusement  rather  than  abhorrenceu 


BOURUALOUE.  169 

The  famous  story  that  Bourdaloue  one  day  de- 
Bcribed  in  his  sermon  an  adulterer,  and  then  look- 
ing at  the  king,  solemnly  said,  "  Tu  es  ille  vir,"  ia 
pronounced  by  the  most  recent  biographer  an  in- 
vention ;  but  he  does  not  present  the  evidence  and 
we  cannot  judge.  At  any  rate  Bourdaloue  was  con- 
stantly saying  very  pointed  things,  which  the  king 
could  not  but  feel  were  meant  for  him,  and  yet 
Louis  had  so  much  of  good  sense  and  conscience, 
and  saw  so  clearly  the  preacher's  sincerity  and 
honesty,  that  he  took  no  offence.  In  fact,  strict 
morality  is  not  really  an  unpopular  theme.  People 
feel  that  the  preacher  ought  to  say  these  things, 
and  that  they  ought  to  hear  them.  So  once  when 
Bome  courtiers  suggested  that  Bourdaloue  spoke  too 
boldly  and  pointedly,  the  king  replied :  * '  The 
preacher  has  done  his  duty ;  it  is  for  us  to  do  ours." 

Bourdaloue  was  a  great  student,  but  was  also 
fond  of  society,  and  himself  sprightly  and  even 
humorous  in  conversation.  It  was  thus  that  he 
came  to  know  so  well  the  character  and  wants  of 
his  time.  He  often  met  Uncine,  Mme.  de  Sevigne, 
Boileau,  Let  a  ]) readier  seize  every  opportunity 
of  free  conversation  with  the  most  cultivated  and 
8 


170  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

the  most  ignorant,  being  more  solicitous  in  bott 
cases  to  hear  than  to  speak,  and  then  he  may  be 
able  in  preaching  to  bring  home  his  message  to  the 
"  business    and  bosoms  "  of  all. 

We  can  say  but  a  word  of  Fenelon  (1651-1715,) 
who  was  a  younger  contemporary  of  Bossuet  and 
Bourdaloue.  Both  gifted  and  good  in  an  extraor- 
dinary degree,  educated  with  the  greatest  care,  per- 
haps the  foremost  of  all  French  preachers  in  that 
unction  in  which  the  French  so  greatly  delight, 
with  the  highest  charm  of  style,  and  great  actual 
popularity  as  a  preacher,  he  has  left  us  to  conjecture 
his  pulpit  power,  with  the  help  of  four  sermons 
which  are  believed  to  have  been  written  in  his 
early  life,  and  which  are  not  of  remarkable  excel- 
lence. This  was  certainly  carrying  to  a  great  ex- 
treme the  preference  for  unwritten  preaching,  which 
he  has  so  eloquently  exhibited  in  his  beautiful  Dia- 
logues on  Eloquence.  Why  did  he  not  write  at 
least  some  discourses  after  preaching  them,  like 
Chrysostom  and  like  Eobert  Hall  ?  He  severely 
condemns  Bourdaloue's  method  of  strict  recitation, 
and  as  a  matter  of  general  theory  the  condemna- 
tion is  undoubtedly  just,   but  why  refuse  to  write 


DU  BOSC.  171 

at  all  ?  In  all  practical  matters  he  tvIio  prefers 
one  plan  need  not  utterly  abjure  others.  And  ai 
to  methods  of  preparing  and  delivering  sermons, 
the  highest  and  noblest  standard  is  that  privately 
stated  by  a  living  preacher,  "  I  wish  to  be  master 
of  all  methods,  and  slave  of  none." 

Two  Protestant  contemporaries  of  Bossuet  and 
Bourdaloue  were  men  of  distinguished  ability. 

Du  Bosc  (1623-1692,)  was  of  good  family,  and 
highly  educated.  You  notice  that,  as  already  re- 
marked, all  the  great  preachers  of  this  epoch,  Pro- 
testant and  Catholic,  were  thoroughly  educated,  and 
most  of  them  reared  in  good  society.  Besides  great 
clearness  of  thought,  fertility  of  invention  and  rich- 
ness of  imagination,  Du  Bosc  had  singular  physical 
advantages,  being  extremely  well-made,  with  a  voice 
at  once  agreeable  and  powerful,  and  vigorous  health. 
In  1668  he  appeared  before  the  king,  to  entreat  that 
he  would  not,  as  proposed,  take  away  certain  rights 
of  the  Protestants.  After  hearing  him  through, 
the  king  went  into  the  queen's  chamber  and  said, 
**  Madame,  I  have  just  listened  to  the  best  speaker 
in  my  kingdom."  And  turning  to  the  courtiers  he 
repeated.     "It   is    certain    that  I  never  heard  anj 


173  ON   HISTORY   OF   PEEACHING. 

one  speak  so  well."  He  had  then  often  heard  Bos- 
Buet,  though  never  Bourdaloue.  The  address  ol 
Du  Bosc  is  given  in  full  by  Vinet,  together  with 
copious  extracts  from  sermons,  and  is  a  truly  noble 
Bpeeimen  of  eloquence,  worthy  to  be  generally  known. 
Du  Bosc  early  became  pastor  at  Caen,  in  Normandy, 
and  three  several  invitations  to  churches  in  Paris 
could  never  draw  him  away  from  the  flock  he  loved. 
The  most  famous  Protestant  preacher  of  the  time 
was  Claude  (1619-1687).  His  father  was  a  minis- 
ter of  great  knowledge,  who  carefully  educated  him 
at  home,  and  then  sent  him  to  study  philosophy 
and  theology  at  Montauban.  For  some  years  he 
was  pastor  of  a  small  church,  where  he  could  devote 
a  great  part  of  his  time  to  study.  A  young  minis- 
ter who  wishes  to  make  the  most  of  himself  must 
give  at  least  one-third  of  his  time  to  studies  which 
look  not  to  next  Sunday  but  to  coming  years ;  and 
this  can  usually  be  best  done  in  a  small  charge. 
Claude  became  pastor  in  Paris  at  the  age  of  forty- 
seven,  and  from  that  time  was  the  soul  of  the  Ee- 
formed  party,  being  especially  vigorous  in  oral  and 
written  controversy  Avith  the  Catholics.  A  book  of 
bis  in  reply  to  a    work  by  the    Jansenists  Arnauld 


CLAUDE.  17S 

and  Nicole,  was  eagerly  circulated  by  the  Jesuits,  who 
were  ready  for  anything  to  damage  the  Jansenists. 
Claude's  oral  controversy  with  Bossuet  attracted 
great  attention.  The  high-born  Protestant  lady  who 
brought  it  about  was  already  disposed  to  go  over — 
as  so  many  of  the  Eeformed  nobility  were  then 
doing — and  she  soon  after  became  a  Catholic.  But 
Claude  sustained  himself  with  great  ability  against 
the  most  splendid  polemic  in  France.  Even  Bos- 
suet's  report  shows  that  his  arguments  were  acute 
and  powerful,  and  the  great  bishop  says,  "I  feared 
for  those  who  heard  him." 

When  the  edict  of  Nantes  was  revoked,  in  1685, 
Claude  was  especially  named,  and  required  to  quit 
the  kingdom  in  twenty-four  hours.  He  knew  it 
some  days  in  advance,  and  his  farewell  to  his  flock 
is  a  noble  and  affecting  monument  of  that  time 
of  trial.  His  ordinary  discourses,  of  which  but  one 
volume  was  left,  seldom  show  intense  passion,  and 
were  very  carefully  wrought  out  and  revised ;  yet 
with  all  their  careful  composition  and  purity  of 
style,  there  is  rapid  movement — that  spirited  dash 
whicL  belongs  alike  to  French  soldiers  and  to  French 
orators,  and  which  is  so  admirable  in  both. 


174  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

Claude's  Essay  on  tlie  Composition  of  a  Sermon 
was  for  a  century  and  a  half  the  favorite  Protestant 
text-book.  .  The  editions  of  Eobert  Robinson  and 
Charles  Simeon  are  well  known.  Its  great  fault 
is  that  it  teaches  the  construction  of  sermons  on 
too  stiff  and  uniform  a  plan.  Both  by  example 
and  in  precept  Claude  protests  against  the  extreme 
rhetorical  brilliancy  in  which  the  national  taste  of 
the  time  delighted,  which  his  great  Catholic  con- 
temporaries cultivated  as  necessary  in  court-preachers, 
and  to  which  some  of  the  Protestant  preachers  had 
become  a  little  inclined.  The  general  feeling  among 
the  Reformed  was  that  a  preacher  should  eschew 
oratory.  When  this  fact  is  taken  into  the  account, 
I  think  it  becomes  clear  that  Claude  and  Du  Bosc, 
though  inferior  in  splendid  eloquence  and  in  real 
power,  are  yet  worthy  to  be  named  even  with  Bossuet 
and  Bourdaloue. 

As  to  the  remaining  period  of  that  great  age, 
a  briefer  account  must  suffice.  There  are  two  con- 
spicuous names,  Massillon  and  Sauriu. 

Massillon  (16G3-1742)  had  an  early  history  quite 
similar  to  that  of  his  great  predecessors.     Obscnra 


MASSILLON-.  175 

origin,  but  college  education,  mouiistic  retiiement, 
then  professor  of  Belles-lettres  and  of  Theology,  and 
at  the  age  of  thirty-six  named  court-preacher,  in 
1699,  five  years  before  the  death  of  Bossuet  and 
Bourdaloue.  He  greatly  admired  Bourdaloue,  but 
avowedly  determined  to  pursue  a  very  different 
course.  His  theory,  as  given  by  the  nephew  who 
edited  his  works,  was  as  follows  :  The  preacher 
must  not  go  into  much  detail  upon  points  of  charac- 
ter and  life  which  concern  only  a  part  of  his  hearers, 
as  particular  callings,  ages,  etc.,  but  must  aim  at 
universal  interest,  and  this  is  found  chiefly  in  the 
passions.  Accordingly  Massillon  habitually  assumes 
principles  as  granted,  or  establishes  them  very 
briefly,  and  then  proceeds  to  analyze  and  depict  the 
reasons  why  men  do  not  conform  to  these  principles, 
as  found  in  their  passions  (in  the  broad  sense), 
including  appetites,  sloth,  ambition,  avarice,  etc., 
and  to  expose  the  numerous  self-deceptions  by  which 
men  quiet  conscience.  Now  this  certainly  represents 
one  very  important  department  of  preaching.  But 
observe  two  things  as  to  what  he  condemns. 
(1)  What  is  addressed  to  one  class  of  persons  nia^ 
le  made  very  interesting  and  profitable  to  otliers, 


176  ON   HISTOET   OF   PEEACHING. 

afi  for  example,  sermons  to  the  young  may  interest 
the  old,  sermons  to  Christians  may  impress  the 
irreligious,  and  vice  versa.  (2)  It  would  not  be 
well  if  all  preachers  took  principles  for  granted. 
It  is  necessary  for  some  minds,  and  interesting  to 
many,  to  have  principles  established  and  confrmed 
by  the  preacher. 

In  fact,  Massillon  seems  to  have  been  too  much 
influenced  by  the  desire  to  take  a  different  tack 
from  Bourdaloue,  and  thus  to  have  made  his  own 
methods  one-sided.  But  all  the  world  knowa 
what  wonderful  power  he  had  in  exciting  emotion. 
Appealing  to  the  passions  is  an  important  part 
of  the  preacher's  work,  though  not  the  highest  part ; 
and  no  finer  example  of  it  can  be  found  than  in 
Massillon,  together  with  a  style  of  singular  ease 
and  sweetness.  But  when  he  is  lauded  as  one  of 
the  very  greatest  of  preachers,  then  I  say,  compare 
his  most  famous  sermon,  *'  On  the  small  number 
of  the  Elect,"  with  the  somewhat  similar  sermon  of 
Jonathan  Edwards,  *' Sinners  in  the  hands  of  an 
angry  God,"  and  you  will  feel  that  the  one  is  super- 
ficial and  artificial,  compared  with  the  tremendom 
power  of  the  other. 


SAURIK.  17? 

Massillon  s  nephew  says  his  sermond  were  not 
composed,  as  one  might  suppose,  with  slow  toil, 
but  "with  a  facility  akin  to  the  miraculous;  not 
cne  of  them  cost  more  than  ten  or  twelve  days." 
His  delivery  was  not  declamatory,  like  that  of 
Bourdaloue  and  most  Frenchmen,  but  comparatively 
quiet ;  yet  he  seemed  to  be  completely  possessed  and 
penetrated  by  his  subject — which  is  often  far  more 
impressive  than  "tearing  passion  to  tatters,"  while 
in  the  French  Court  it  had  the  charm  of  novelty. 

In  1718  he  preached  before  Louis  XV.,  then  nine 
years  old,  ten  sermons  in  Lent,  which  are  commonly 
known  as  his  Petit  Car^me,  "Little  Lent."  They 
are  probably  the  earliest  examples  of  sermons 
addressed  to  a  child,  and  are  admirable  for  their 
simplicity  and  sweetness. 

The  great  Protestant  preacher  Saurin  (1677-1730) 
was  a  contemporary  of  Massillon,  but  connection 
between  them  was  impossible,  for  Saurin  was  a 
child  of  but  eight  years  when  the  revocation  of  the 
Edict  drove  him  and  his  father  to  Geneva.  His 
father  was  a  lawyer,  famous  for  his  elegant  style. 
At  Geneva,  then  "the  capital  of  the  Protestant 
world,"  the  youth  had  great  advantages  for  educ» 
8* 


178  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

tion.  At  seventeen  he  enlisted  in  a  volunteer  corps 
of  refugees  to  help  "William  of  England  against 
Louis  XIV.,  and  proved  a  gallant  young  soldier, 
at  the  same  time  often  conducting  religious  worship 
and  even  preaching  to  his  comrades.  After  three 
years,  when  peace  was  made,  he  returned  and 
studied  three  years  longer  at  Geneva,  gaining  great 
distinction  as  a  student.  His  exercises  in  oratory 
"drew  a  crowd,  for  which  on  one  occasion  it  was 
necessary  to'  open  the  doors  of  the  cathedral." 
His  five  years  as  a  pastor  were  spent  in  London, 
with  a  small  church  of  French  refugees.  Here, 
like  a  true  Protestant,  he  married  a  wife.  Yet, 
though  a  real  love  affair,  this  union  did  not  turn 
out  very  well.  Unexampled  as  the  case  may  be, 
the  minister's  wife  was  of  an  unlucky  disposition  ; 
and  being  blessed  with  the  company  of  a  mother-in- 
law,  sister-in-law,  and  two  brothers-in-law,  she  made 
the  house  too  hot  to  hold  them.  A  bad  manager  she 
was,  too,  while  he,  for  his  part,  was  negligent  and 
wastefully  generous. 

Well,  well,  but  he  was  a  great  preacher,  and  when 
London  fogs  proved  unhealthy,  they  created  him  a 
new   position    at   the    Hague,    where    he  spent  hii 


SAURIN.  179 

remaining  twenty-five  years  in  extraordinary  jopn- 
larity  and  usefulness.  Places  in  his  church  were 
engaged  a  fortnight  in  advance  by  the  most  distin- 
guished persons,  and  people  climbed  up  on  ladders 
to  look  in  at  the  windows.  The  famous  scholar 
Le  Clerc  (Clericus)  long  refused  to  hear  him,  en 
the  ground  that  a  Christian  preacher  should  have 
nothing  oratorical,  and  he  *'  distrusted  effects  pro- 
duced rather  by  a  vain  eloquence  than  by  force  of 
argument."  One  day  he  consented  to  go,  on  condi- 
tion that  he  should  sit  behind  the  pulpit,  so  as  not 
to  see  the  oratorical  action.  At  the  end  of  the  ser- 
mon he  found  himself  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  with 
tears  in  his  eyes. 

For  Saurin  was  a  true  orator.  "While  not  devot- 
ing himself,  like  the  great  Catholic  preachers,  to  the 
art  of  eloquence,  he  possessed  an  energetic  nature, 
a  powerful  imagination,  a  good  person  and  voice,  and 
his  delivery,  though  commonly  quiet,  often  swelled 
into  passionate  earnestness.  And  he  was  also  a  great 
thinker,  beyond  even  Bourdaloue,  probably  beyond 
any  other  French  preacher  except  Calvin.  The 
doctrinal  views  we  call  Calvinism  compel  men  to  thiuK* 
ieeply,  if  they  are  capable  of  thinking  at  all.     It  ii 


180  ON   HISTORY    OF    PREACHING, 

then  not  strange  that  the  published  sermons  ol 
Saurin  at  once  gained  a  great  reputation  throughout 
the  Protestant  world,  and  exerted  a  most  wholesome 
influence.  In  Germany,  where  preaching  was  then 
at  a  low  ebb,  it  is  believed  that  Mosheim  and  his 
school  derived  much  inspiration  from  Saurin,  and  at 
a  later  period  Reinhard  frankly  acknowledged  great 
indebtedness  to  this  noble  French  model.  There 
were  numerous  English  translations,  but  that  of 
Eobert  Eobinson  has,  I  believe,  superseded  all  the 
others.  Among  all  these  great  French  preachers, 
I  should  say,  read  mainly  in  Bourdaloue  and  Saurin. 

His  last  years  were  saddened  by  the  harsh  assaults 
of  some  ministers  who  were  envious  and  jealous. 
Alas !  that  old  and  bitter,  that  too  often  repeated 
story  of  ministerial  jealousy. 

But  why  did  French  pulpit  eloquence  so  sudden- 
ly fail,  after  rising  so  high  ?  Why  is  it  that  after 
Massillon  and  Saurin  you  do  not  know  the  name  ol 
any  French  preacher  for  almost  a  century  ?  *  "We 
can  easily  see,  as  we  saw  before  in  the  time  of  Chry- 
Bostom    and  Augustine,  the   cause    of  this    decline. 

*  Except  Eridaiae,  who  flouriBhed  1750,  and  is  eologixed 
»7  Maur7  (Principlee  of  Eloq.) 


FEENCn    rREACHERS  181 

Piotestantism  was  crushed  in  France,  its  best  ele' 
ments  banished,  and  the  few  who  remained  and  con- 
tinued faithful,  were  destitute  of  the  means  of  cul- 
ture, for  ministers  and  for  people,  while  the  refu- 
gees in  foreign  countries  would  generally  continue 
to  worship  in  French  for  only  one  or  two  genera- 
tions. The  Catholics,  for  their  part,  not  only  lost 
the  stimulating  rivalry  of  Protestant  preaching,  but 
also  the  artificial  stimulus  of  Louis  XIV. 's  love  for 
pulpit  eloquence.  Massillon,  after  preaching  the  aged 
king's  funeral,  and  trying  to  make  some  impression 
on  the  child  that  succeeded  him,  retired  to  his  dio- 
cese, and  for  many  years  preached  faithfully  there, 
but  never  revisited  the  court.  And  now  that  Jan- 
nenism  and  Protestantism  were  gone,  infidelity  and 
corruption  struck  deep  and  spread  widely  and  rapidly 
through  the  nation.  There  can  be  no  true  elo- 
quence where  there  is  not  hope  of  carrying  your 
point,  and  preachers  could  have  little  hope  of  doing 
good  in  the  days  when  Voltaire  and  his  associates 
led  the  national  thought,  and  when  the  king  could 
Bay,  "After  me,  tlie  deluge."  About  1775  a  Jesuit 
preacher  at  Notre-Dame  did  give  several  sermoni 
fchjit  manifestly  had  something  in  them.     A  biograph- 


182  OJf    HISTORY   OF   rREACHIXG. 

ical  sketcli  at  a  later  period  mentioned  that  thii 
preacher's  discourses  had  a  rather  peculiar  character, 
and  that  "people  thought  they  saw  errors  in  them." 
It  has  since  come  to  light  that  the  worthy  Jesuit 
preached  a  whole  volume  of  extracts  from  Saurin, 
word  for  word. 

These  things  being  considered,  we  have  little 
occasion  to  concur  in  Voltaire's  explanation  of  the 
decay  of  pulpit  eloquence,  viz.,  that  the  subject  had 
been  exhausted,  and  nothing  was  now  possible  but 
commonplace. 

And  how  is  it  that  of  late  we  have  eloquent 
French  preaching  again  ?  Napoleon  gave  the  Pro- 
testants toleration  and  support,  which  the  subse- 
quent governments  have  not  disturbed.  About  the 
same  time  there  was  in  Switzerland  a  reaction  to 
evangelical  sentiments,  producing  Vinet,  D'Aubigne, 
and  Csesar  Malan.  As  soon  as  there  was  time  for 
©(lucational  opportunities  to  show  their  effect  among 
tlie  French  Protestants,  we  hear  of  Adolphe  Monod, 
a  man  of  rare  eloquence.  James  "W.  Alexander, 
hearing  him  on  two  different  European  journeys, 
each  time  declared  him  the  most  eloquent  preachei 
living ;  and  it  seems  to  me  doubtful  whether,  with 


FKENCH    PliEACHEES,  IbS 

the  exception  of  Kobert  Hall,  the  century  has  pro- 
duced his  equal.  About  the  same  time  came  the 
elder  Coquerel,  a  man  of  great  power  in  the  pulpit. 
It  is  difficult  to  gain  information  upon  the  question, 
but  my  impression  is  that  in  this  century  as  in  the 
seventeenth,  effective  preaching  in  France  began 
with  the  Protestants.  I  know  not  whether  this 
Protestant  movement  had  produced  any  conscious 
effect  on  the  erratic  Lacordaire,  who  thirty  years 
ago  began  to  revive  at  Notre-Dame  the  traditions 
of  the  old  Dominicans  as  a  preaching  order ;  or  on 
the  Jesuit  Father  F61ix,  who  followed  him  in  that 
celebrated  pulpit,  to  be  succeeded  himself  a  few 
years  ago  by  the  well  known  Father  Hyacinthe. 
Of  Protestants  the  most  famous  at  the  present  time 
are  the  younger  Coquerel,  and  Bersier,  whom  I  heard 
repeatedly  in  Paris  some  years  ago,  who  has  pub- 
lished several  volumes  of  sermons,  and  whom  not 
many  living  preachers  equal  in  true  eloquence. 

In  conclusion,  let  us  briefly  notice  certain  faults 
in  the  French  preachers,  especially  in  the  great 
Catholic  preachers  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

They  never  suggest  much  beyond  what  they  say, 


184  ON   HISTORY  OF   PREACHING. 

This  is  a  general  defect  of  French  style,  arising  from 
the  passion  for  clearness.  "Whatever  is  not  clear 
is  not  French,"  they  repeat  with  a  just  pride.  But 
by  consequence,  they  avoid  saying  anything  that  can- 
not be  said  with  entire  clearness.  And  so  we  find 
little  of  that  rich  suggestiveness,  which  is  common 
in  the  best  English  speaking  and  writing,  and  even 
more  in  the  German. 

There  is  a  monotonous  uniformity  of  elegance. 
They  are  never  familiar,  never  for  a  moment  homely. 
There  is  nothing  of  anecdote,  scarcely  anything  of 
narrative  illustration.  Like  the  court  of  Louis  XIV., 
they  never  appear  save  in  full  dress.  And  so  many 
elegant  discourses  finally  weary  us  with  their  glitter, 
like  the  pictures  in  the  galleries  of  the  Louvre. 

In  fine,  these  sermons,  with  all  their  merit,  are  too 
plainly  a  work  of  art.  The  art  is  very  perfect,  such 
as  in  a  drama  or  a  romance  we  might  regard  with 
unalloyed  satisfaction.  But  for  preaching  it  is  too 
prominent.  We  sigh  for  something  unmistakably 
natural,  real,  genuine. 

As  artists,  then,  the  great  French  preachers  may 
be  to  us  most  instructive  and  inspiring  masters. 
But  when  it  comes  to  actual  preaching,    then   the 


FRENCH   PRE  ACHE  uS.  185 

highest  art — nay,  the  old  maxim  is  itself  superficial 
and  misleading,  for  our  aim  should  be  not  simply  to 
have  art  and  conceal  it,  but  to  rise  above  art — or, 
if  we  must  state  it  in  Latin,  summa  ars  arfem 
superare. 

Note.  Since  the  lecture  was  delivered,  a  letter  has  been 
received  from  M.  Bersier  (see  above,  page  183),  in  reply  to  some 
inquiries,  and  I  take  the  liberty  of  extracting  as  foUovps  : 

"  The  Catholic  pulpit  is  singularly  sterile  at  our  epoch  in 
France.  We  may  say  that  since  Lacordaire,  Ravignan,  and 
Father  Hyacinthe  no  orator  has  appeared  of  real  excellence. 
Father  Felix,  of  the  order  of  the  Jesuits,  has  preached  with  a 
certain  success  for  several  Lent  seasons  at  Notre  Dame,  and 
just  now  they  are  trying  to  bring  into  vogue  the  name  of 
Father  Monsabre.  But  neither  of  them  rises  to  the  height  of 
his  task.  Their  fundamental  characteristic  is  the  ultramontane 
logic,  developing  inflexibly  the  principles  of  the  Syllabus,  hurl- 
ing them  as  a  defiance  against  contemporary  society,  and  say- 
ing to  it :  Submit  to  Rome,  or  thou  art  lost.  No  profound  study 
of  the  Scriptures,  no  psychology,  nothing  truly  interior,  or 
persuasive.  It  is  the  method  of  outward  authority  brought 
into  the  pulpit,  with  the  arid  procedures  of  the  scholastic 
demonstration — a  thing  at  once  empty  and  pretentious. 

"  In  the  Protestant  Church  of  France,  one  may  name  M. 
Coulin,  of  Geneva,  who  has  made  at  Paris  remarkable  sermons 
on  the  Son  of  Man;  M.  Dliombres  of  Paris,  a  highly  practical 
orator  and  full  of  unction ;  and  in  the  Liberal  party  Messrs. 
Fontanes  and  Viguier,  who,  since  the  death  of  Athanase 
Coquerel  the  younger,  are  its  most  distinguished  preachers." 

M.  Bersier  has  abstained  from  mentioning  his  own  aasociat* 
ftmoog  the  Independent  Reformed  Churches,  M.  de  Pressense. 


LECTURE  V. 

THE  ENGLISH  PULPIT. 

In  this  brief  course  of  lectures  you  have  seen  that 
the  periods  embraced  are  far  too  vast  for  satisfactory 
treatment;  and  yet  some  important  departments  in 
the  History  of  Preaching  have  to  be  left  entirely  out 
of  view.  Besides  the  Greek  preachers  of  medieval 
and  modern  times,  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  and 
later  Italian  preachers  and  others,  we  have  taken  no 
account  of  the  German  pulpit  since  Luther.  It 
seemed  better,  for  various  reasons,  to  treat  of  tho 
French  rather  than  the  German  preachers.  And 
for  this  final  lecture  I  choose  the  English  pulpit, 
which,  even  if  we  should  not  glance  at  Scotland  or 
America,  presents  a  field  of  immense  extent  and 
Bufiiciently  embarrassing  in  its  richness. 

The  History  of  Preaching  in  England  comprises 
five  specially  noteworthy    periods :    (1)    "Wyclif,    (2) 


TBE  ENGLISH   rULPIT.  18? 

The  Reformation,  (3)  The  Puritan  and  Anglican 
preachers  of  the  seventeenth  century,  (4)  The  Age  ol 
Whitefield  and  "Wesley,  (5)  The  Nineteenth  Century, 
of  which  there  is  an  earlier  and  a  later  division.  * 

Before  Wyclif,  we  find  little  in  English  preaching 
that  is  particularly  instructive.  The  missionariea 
Augustine  and  PauUinus,  who  converted  the  heathen 
English  in  the  seventh  century,  must  have  spoken 
with  power,  but  their  eloquence  is  not  preserved. 
Let  us  frequently  remind  ourselves  that  the  history  of 
recorded  preaching  is  but  a  small  part  of  the  history 
of  preaching.  The  venerable  Bede  has  left  us  some 
very  brief  discourses,  supposed  to  have  been  imper- 
fectly written  down  by  his  hearers,  which  show  life 
and  spirit,  but  would  have  been  forgotten  but  for 
his  famous  History. 

*  Although  English  pulpit  literature  is  so  rich,  it  is  remarka- 
ble that  we  have  no  treatise  whatever  on  its  history.  The  well 
known  aversion  of  the  English  to  rhetorical  art  might  in  this 
case  have  been  overcome  by  their  love  of  history.  Of  late 
years  America  has  greatly  surpassed  the  mother-country  in  the 
production  of  numerous  and  valuable  works  on  Homiletics,  and 
in  like  manner  it  may  be  that  Americans  will  take  the  lead  in 
writing  the  history  of  the  English  Pulpit.  Corresponding 
works  exist  already  among  the  French,  and  are  somewhat 
numerous  in  Germany.  But  even  the  German  writers  oenfin« 
themselves  almost  entirely  to  their  own  country,  being  ap 
parently  quite  unacquainted  with  the  English  preachers. 


188  ON  HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

Wyclif  (1324-82),  the  first  great  Protestaut,  the 
first  who  not  merely  condemned  some  evils  in  the 
Catholic  church,  but  struck  at  the  yery  heart  of  the 
Papal  system,  was  a  preacher  of  great  power.  He  does 
not  exhibit  much  imagination,  and  so  is  not  in  the 
full  sense  eloquent.  But  he  is  singularly  vigorous 
and  acute  in  argument,  and  has  the  talent  for 
*'  putting  things  "  which  belongs  to  a  great  teacher  of 
men.  His  bold  antagonisms,  hard  hits  and  unsparing 
sarcasms,  his  shrewd  use  of  the  dilemma  and  the 
rcductio  ad  ahsurdum,  show  the  master  of  popular 
argumentation.  In  his  development  from  a  scholas- 
tic divine,  a  student  and  teacher  of  dry  philosophical 
theology,  into  a  pungent,  stirring  preacher  and  popu- 
lar leader,  he  is  a  representative  man  ;  for  these  two 
sides  of  character  and  life  must  in  some  measure 
be  combined  in  every  man  who  is  to  achieve  great 
usefulness  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel.  Yet  with 
all  this  popular  power  and  skill,  Wyclif  did  his 
chief  work  not  by  his  own  preaching,  but  through 
others.  He  gathered  around  him  plain  and  devout 
men,  filled  with  his  ideas  and  his  spirit,  and  sent 
them  forth  as  home  missionaries,  and  it  was  chiefly 
by  their  humble    and    zealous    preaching,    publicly 


WYCLIB.  189 

atid  from  house  to  house,  together  with  the  circula- 
tion of  Wyclifs  tracts,  written  in  the  language  oi 
the  people,  that  the  new  doctrines  spread  like  wild- 
fire through  all  England,  till  a  hostile  contemporary 
complained  that  "  a  man  could  scarcely  meet  twc 
people  on  the  same  road  but  one  of  them  was  a  dis- 
ciple of  Wyclif."  These  "simple  priests,"  as  they 
were  called,  corresponded  to  the  Dominican  order 
of  preaching  friars — as  it  was  when  first  constituted — 
also  to  Wesley's  circuit  riders,  and  to  the  often 
illiterate  but  devoted  men  who  have  done  so  much 
in  the  establishment  of  Baptist  churches  throughout 
the  United  States.  We  see  in  this  work  of  Wyclif 
and  his  friends  an  example  of  the  fact  that  a  pro- 
fessor may  sometimes  do  more  through  his  pupila 
than  he  could  have  done  by  personal  labor  as  pastor 
and  preacher.  In  fact,  every  gospel  worker  should 
strive  to  infuse  the  spirit  of  work  into  others.  The 
wisest  and  most  useful  pastor  is  not  he  who  ac- 
complishes most  by  his  individual  exertions,  but 
rather  he  who  can  gather  the  largest  number  of  true 
helpers,being  himself  the  nucleus  around  which  their 
labors  may  crystallize  into  a  compact  and  effective 
whole. 


190  ON  HISTORY  OF  PREACHING. 

"Wyclif' 8  reformation  contained  the  germs  of  that 
which  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  later  proved  so 
grandly  successful ;  and  yet  in  a  few  years  after  hia 
death  it  was  crushed,  leaving  of  manifest  results 
only  his  translation  of  the  Bible,  and  the  marked 
influence  of  his  writings  upon  John  Huss,  in  distant 
Bohemia,,  which  at  that  time  was  connected  with 
England  by  a  royal  marriage.  England's  first  great 
reformer,  and  her  first  great  poet,  Chaucer — who 
was  "Wyclif 's  younger  contemporary  and  friend — had 
no  successors  for  many  weary  generations,  during 
which  the  nation  was  enfeebled  and  demoralized  by 
the  hundred  years'  struggle  with  France,  and  after- 
ward by  the  "Wars  of  the  Eoses  at  home.  When  all 
this  had  passed,  and  there  was  again  peace  and 
orderly  government  and  returning  prosperity,  then 
again  the  English  were  ready  to  think  of  curing  the 
dreadful  evils  which  disgraced  the  clergy  and  the 
church,  and  just  then  came  the  spread  of  the  New 
Learning,  with  Erasmus'  Greek  Testament  and  Tyn- 
dale's  English  Bible,  the  stirring  ideas  of  Luther,  and 
the  political  and  connubial  schemes  of  Henry  VIIL, 
all  of  which  concurring  forces  produced  the  English 
Reformation. 


COLET  191 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Eevival  of  Letters 
formed  one  leading  occasion  of  the  Reformation, 
both  in  Germany  and  in  England.  And  already 
before  the  Reformation  began,  this  revived  study  of 
Greek  literature  was  producing  some  wholesome  effect 
upon  preaching.  As  early  as  1510  we  read  of  Colet, 
Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  as  "  the  great  preacher  of  liis 
day,  and  the  predecessor  of  Latimer  in  his  simpli- 
city, directness  and  force."  He  had  gone  to  Italy  to 
study  Greek,  and  then  for  several  years  had  taught 
Greek  at  Oxford,  awakening  the  enthusiastic  admi- 
ration of  Erasmus,  who  said,  "  When  I  heard  him 
speak,  me  thought  I  heard  Plato  himself  talk." 
Notice  then  that  this  earliest  of  the  great  Greek  schol- 
ars of  England  was  as  a  preacher  remarkable  for 
''simplicity,  directness  and  force."  It  is  another  sig- 
nificant fact  that  Colet,  who  had  lectured  at  Oxford 
on  the  Greek  Testament,  with  all  the  other  profes- 
&ors  of  the  University  taking  notes,  was  perhaps  the 
first  preacher  of  the  time  that  regularly  expounded 
the  Scriptures  on  Sundays.  Good  popular  exposi- 
tion always  rests  on  loving  study  of  the  Sciiptures, 
and  usually  upon  study  of  the  original. 

Everybody  knows  that  the  most  notable  preacher 


..V 


192  OK  HISTORY  OF  PREACHINQ. 

of  the  English  Reformation  was  I^atimer  (about  149C 
to  1555).  The  superficial  reader  of  his  sermons 
would  probably  at  first  regard  Latimer  as  a  sort  of 
oddity,  with  his  homely  humor,  queer  stories  and 
quaint  phrases,  his  frank  egotism  and  general  famil- 
iarity. But  read  on  carefully,  and  you  soon  become 
convinced  that  you  are  dealing  with  a  powerful  mind 
and  an  elevated  character.  He  was  well  educated 
at  Oxford,  but  never  forgot  his  experiences  as  the 
son  of  an  humble  yeoman,  and  while  brought  into 
relation  to  the  great  and  learned,  never  lost  sympa- 
thy with  common  life  and  the  common  mind.  A 
student  of  books,  you  see  that  he  has  been  still 
more  a  keen  observer  of  men  and  things.  He 
does  not  speak  of  life  as  one  who  has  seen  it  dimly 
mirrored  in  literature,  but  as  one  who  has  eagerly 
looked  upon  the  vivid  original.  His  utterances  are 
as  fresh  as  morning  air,  or  the  morning  song  of  the 
birds.  He  grasps  truth  with  vigor,  handles  it  with 
ease,  holds  it  up  before  you  in  startling  reality.  It 
is  pleasant  to  say  that  some  of  his  best  sermons 
have  recently  been  made  accessible  to  all,  in  one 
of  the  small  volumes  of  "English  Reprints,"  sold 
for  a  trifle.    I  think  that  persons  who  occupy  them* 


LATIMEB.  193 

lelves  mnch  with  the  study  of  pulpit  eloquence, 
who  are  hunting  in  every  age  for  *'Masteri)ieces," 
and  setting  up  lofty  standards  of  homiletical  art, 
would  find  it  most  wholesome  to  read  several  sermons  of 
Latimer,  to  feel  the  power  of  his  careless  vigor  and  in- 
tense vitality,  and  remind  themselves  that  not  quite  all 
the  great  preachers  of  the  world  have  been  perpetually 
engaged  in  the  production  of  masterpieces  of  eloquence. 
How  many  of  the  most  influential  Eeformers 
were  men  of  much  the  same  stamp.  Luther,  Zwingle, 
Wyclif ,  Latimer,  Knox — all  intellectual  and  educated, 
but  all  men  of  the  people,  in  full  mental  sympathy 
with  the  people,  and  thus  able  to  command  popular 
sympathy,  and  to  send  great  electric  thrills  through 
the  community,  the  nation,  the  age.  Some  of  our 
American  Baptist  ministers  of  a  hundred  years  ago 
had  all  these  qualities,  except  education.  If  John 
Leland  had  been  thoroughly  educated  in  his  youth, 
he  might  have  shaken  the  continent.  Great  is 
refined  culture  and  literary  taste,  but  greater  far  is 
shrewd  mother-wit,  and  racy  humor,  and  wide  and 
varied  sympathy,  and  close,  personal  observation  of 
the  strangely  mingled  life  we  men  are  living  ir 
this  strange  world. 
8 


194  ON"  HISTORY   OF   PREACHI>''G. 

Two  years  after  Latimer  preached  the  ''Seven 
Sermons  before  Edward  VI."  which  remain  to  us, 
there  was  added  to  the  number  of  the  king's  chap- 
lains (1551)  the  other  most  remarkable  English 
preacher  of  the  time,  John  Knox  (1505-1572). 
Professor  Lorimer,  in  his  "John  Knox  and  the 
Church  of  England,"  published  last  year  from  newly 
discovered  materials,  has  conclusively  shown  that 
the  great  Scotchman  exerted  a  powerful  influence 
in  England,  and  did  more  than  Bishop  Hooper  to 
develop  and  shape  that  Puritan  sentiment  which  a 
century  later  became  so  powerful.  In  his  preach- 
ing, as  already  intimated,  he  somewhat  resembled 
Latimer,  being  an  educated  man  but  quite  superior 
to  pedantry  and  formality,  and  remarkable  for  force 
of  thought  and  stirring  earnestness.  Like  Latimer 
too,  he  usually  preached  without  written  prepara- 
tion ;  and  as  he  seldom  wrote  out  his  sermons 
afterwards,  we  have  to  judge  of  his  powers  as  a 
preacher  mainly  from  his  other  works.  I  think 
you  will  best  get  the  impress  of  his  character  and 
catch  his  spirit  by  reading  his  "  History  of  the 
Reformation  in  Scotland."  His  was  '*  the  martial  or 
do-battle    style  of  pulpit  oratory,"  in  fact  he  wai 


JOHN   KXOX. 

particularly  fond  of  martial  figures.  This  was  natu- 
ral in  those  stormy  times,  and  in  a  preacher  whose 
life  was  often  in  sore  peril,  but  at  whose  grave  the 
Regent  Murray  pronounced  the  now  well  known 
eulogium,  "There  lies  he,  who  neycr  feared  the 
face  of  man."  Fearlessness  is  a  quality  scarcely 
less  needful  for  preachers  in  the  *' piping  time  of 
peace,"  than  in  time  of  persecution,  scarcely  less 
needed  by  us,  for  example,  than  by  our  fathers  of 
a  century  ago.  How  many  now  are  afraid  of  social 
influence,  or  afraid  of  being  stigmatized  as  wanting 
in  "culture,"  or  ignorant  of  "science,"  or — worst 
of  all — as  lacking  in  "charity."  "While  eschewing 
bitterness,  let  us  coyet  boldness. 

Knox  is  a  notable  example  of  entering  upon 
the  ministry  late  in  life.  Educated  for  the  Catholic 
priesthood,  but  early  deposed  because  of  Protestant 
heresy,  he  meant  to  spend  his  time  as  professor  and 
public  lecturer,  but  was  pressed  into  the  ministry 
at  the  age  of  forty-two.  There  is  a  further  lesson 
in  the  fact  that  about  this  time  he  learned  Greek, 
and  at  the  age  of  forty-nine  we  find  him  at  Geneva, 
busily  studying  Hebrew.  Let  it  not  be  forgotten 
iunid  our  elaborate  processes  of    ministerial    educa- 


196  ON   HISTOKY  OF   PEEACHIXQ. 

tion  that  a  man  of  competent  intelligence  maj 
begin  to  preach  when  he  is  growing  old,  ar^d  be 
very  useful;  but  also  that  such  a  preacher,  if  he 
has  the  right  spirit,  will  be  eager  to  supply,  as  far 
as  may  be,  his  educational  deficiencies. 

The  martial  style  of  thought  and  expression 
which  characterized  Knox,  was  fitly  attended  by 
a  most  impassioned  delivery.  One  who  often  heard 
him  in  his  old  age,  afterwards  described  him  as 
lifted  by  two  servants  up  to  the  pulpit,  **whar  he 
behovit  to  lean,  at  his  first  entrie  ;  but  er  he  haid 
done  with  his  sermone,  he  was  sae  active  and  vigorous, 
that  he  was  lyk  to  ding  the  pulpit  in  Mads,  and 
flie  out  of  it."  One  of  the  pulpits  he  pounded  is 
still  preserved  in  Stu'ling ;  I  remember  standing 
in  it,  and  while  not  presuming  to  aspire  after 
an  imitation  of  his  delivery,  yet  longing  to  catch 
something  of  his  bold  and  zealous  spirit.  It  la 
a  fact  which  might  be  worth  some  reflection,  that 
the  Scotch  preachers,  though  living  farther  North, 
have  as  a  rule  been  more  fiery  and  impassioned 
than  the  English. 

Afl  to  other  preachers  of  the  Keformation  period, 
we  can  eay  but  a  word.     Bishop  Hooper,  the  martyr^ 


THE   ENGLISH    PULPIT.  197 

and  the  first  Englishman  who  distinctly  represented 
the  Puritan  tendency,  was  very  zealous  in  preach- 
ing, for  we  are  told  by  Burnet  that  at  one  period 
he  preached  four,  or  at  least  three  times  every  day. 
Cranmer's  sermons  show  force  of  argument,  and  an 
agreeable  style,  but  little  of  the  Imagination  anc 
passion  which  are  necessary  to  eloquence.  Bishop 
Jewell  was  a  learned  man,  and  sometimes  eloquent, 
but  with  little  that  was  characteristic  or  very  highly 
impressive.  Archbishop  Sandys  was  hot  enough 
in  his  numerous  quarrels,  but  not  warm  in  preach- 
ing. , 

Between  the  Reformation  and  the  time  of  Crom- 
well, including  about  a  century,  there  were  many 
able  ecclesiastics,  many  learned  divines,  and  some 
striking  preachers,  but  none  of  the  highest  eminence. 
Hooker  is  immortal  for  his  philosophical  work  on 
Ecclesiastical  Polity,  but  was  not  attractive  as  a 
preacher.  Dr.  Donne  is  said  to  have  been  a  man  of 
learning  and  remarkable  for  brilliant  imagination 
and  tender  sentiment ;  but  his  sermons  are  spoiled 
by  those  conceits,  which  abound  in  his  poetry  also. 
Let  all  fanciful  and  brilliant  men  remember  that 
perpetual  efforts  to  strike  and  dazzle  soon  weary  and 


198  OK   HISTOKT    OF   PKEACHIXG. 

fail  of  their  end.  Bishop  Andrewes  was  a  learned 
and  able  man,  worthy  of  his  position  as  one  of  King 
James'  translators  of  the  Bible,  but  his  sermons 
are  so  laden  with  learned  quotation  and  discussion 
that  they  lack  movement,  and  I  cannot  read  them 
with  profit  or  patience.  Bishop  Hall  is  seen  to  best 
advantage  in  his  justly  celebrated  ''  Contemplations 
on  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,"  which  every 
preacher  will  find  exceedingly  instructive  and  sug- 
gestive, and  from  which  I  have  observed  that  some 
recent  German  preachers  borrow  striking  remarks, 
sometimes  giving  them  verbatim  without  acknowl- 
edgment. 

No  preacher  of  the  highest  power  or  of  lasting 
reputation  for  three-quarters  of  a  century,  and  yet 
this  was  precisely  the  age  of  Shakspeare  and  Bacon. 
The  fact  certainly  calls  for  explanation.  It  will  not 
do  to  say  that  the  national  mind  was  too  much  occu- 
pied with  the  Armada  and  the  new  trade  with  the 
Indies.  These  did  not  prevent  the  grand  literary 
outburst,  represented  by  Raleigh  and  Sidney,  Spenser, 
Shakspeare  and  the  other  great  dramatists,  and  Ba- 
con. The  comparative  inferiority  of  preaching  must 
be  referred  mainly  to  two  causes.     (1)  There  was  in 


THE   ENGLISH    PULPIT.  19S 

all  Europe  a  reaction,  more  or  less  marked,  from  the 
excitement  which  had  accompanied  the  early  stages 
of  the  Reformation ;  and  as  a  natural  consequence 
of  this  reaction,  preaching  would  become  less 
intensely  earnest.  (2)  There  was  in  England  at 
this  time  a  great  lack  of  religious  freedom,  and  with- 
out this  we  can  hardly  anywhere  find  examples  of 
the  highest  pulpit  eloquence.  The  more  radical 
reformers,  nicknamed  "  Puritans,"  who  insisted  that 
church  government,  ceremonies,  and  religious  life 
must  all  be  strictly  conformed  to  the  "pure  Word  of 
God,"  and  not  controlled  by  the  crown  or  by  old 
Catholic  usage,  were  from  the  time  of  Edward  VI. 
numerous  and  earnest,  but  by  no  means  agreed 
among  themselves  as  to  the  length  to  which  they 
would  carry  their  opposition  to  Episcopacy,  Catholic 
ceremonies,  and  Eoyal  supremacy  over  the  church. 
These  unorganized  and  varying  radical  tendencie« 
were  sternly  repressed  by  Elizabeth,  and  with  no  small 
success,  both  because  of  her  immense  personal  popu- 
larity and  by  reason  of  her  comparative  moderation 
and  regal  tact.  Still,  while  the  reaction  from  the 
early  zeal  of  the  Reformation  was  lessening  the  zeal 
of  the  dominant  churchmen,  these   Puritan   ienden- 


200  ON   HISTORY   OF    PREACniNG. 

cies  continually,  though  slowly,  gathered  strength. 
Under  James  L,  who  was  uni^opular  and  unwise, 
the  persecution  grew  much  more  harsh  and  irritating, 
and  therefore  the  Puritans  became  stronger.  It 
began  to  appear  to  them  that  both  political  and 
religious  freedom  depended  on  the  maintenance 
and  triumph  of  their  Puritan  principles.  Under 
Charles  the  two  parties  became  more  and  more  antag- 
onistic and  embittered,  each  party  hating  whatever 
doctrines  and  customs  the  others  maintained,  and  the 
Puritans  gradually  became  willing  to  die  for  their 
tenets,  fearless  of  persecution  and  because  fearless, 
free  in  heart.  Meantime  the  Eoyalists  had  taken  up 
the  new  theory  that  Episcopacy  was  Scriptural,  of 
Divine  appointment,  like  the  Divine  right  of  kings, 
and  so  their  civil  and  religious  loyalty  mingled  and 
strengthened  each  other.  Now  again  there  was  burn- 
ing religious  earnestness  and  zeal,  and  thus  it  became 
possible  that  there  should  be  intensely  earnest  and 
truly  eloquent  preaching. 

Meanwhile,  the  thoughts  of  men  were  aronsed 
and  widened,  as  the  seventeenth  century  went  on« 
Voltaire  thinks  the  French  Calvinistic  refugees  car- 
ried eloquence  into  foreign   countries.     But  this  is 


JEREMY    TAYLOR  201 

nonsense  as  regards  England,  for  the  first  Huguenot 
refugees  found  the  great  age  of  English  pulpit  elo- 
quence almost  at  an  end.  In  fact,  every  one  ol 
the  great  English  preachers,  Puritan  and  Anglican, 
with  "^/he  single  exception  of  South,  was  older  than 
Bourdaloue,  and  several  of  them  were  twelve  or 
fourteen  years  older  than  Bossuet.'  Clearly  they 
did  not  learn  eloquence  from  the  French.  The  truth 
is  that  both  English  and  French  were  stirred  and 
moved  by  the  spirit  of  the  age,  as  I  tried  to  describe 
it  in  the  last  lecture.  And  in  England  this  spirit 
of  the  age  combined  with  the  fierce  conflict  between 
Puritan  and  Churchman,  to  quicken  religious  thought 
and  kindle  religious  zeal,  and  thus  to  create  the 
noble  English  eloquence  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  great  preachers  of  that  age  are  so  well 
known  that  a  brief  reference  to  each  of  them  may 
be  at  once  intelligible  and  sufficient. 

Jeremy  Taylor  (1613-77),  a  graduate  of  Cam- 
bridge and  always    a  zealous  loyalist,   was  silenced 

^  Examine  the  following  table  : 

Baxter 1615-1691  Leit-litnn....]r.n-]r'f«         BoBsuet 1637-17W 

Owen~. 161*1-1683  .Tc.  Taylor ..1613-1 677  Bourdaloue  .1632-1704 

Flavel 162.'- 1691  B^irmw 1630-1677         Feneloii 1661-1715 

BoJiiaii 1628-1083  Tillotson....  1630-1694  Ma??illoii....l663-]74» 

Howe    1630-1705  SouUi 1638-1716         tiaujiu 1677-173« 


202  ox    HISTOIiY    OF   PREACHIXG. 

duric':'  the  Protectorate  of  Cromwell,  aud  twice  im 
prisoned,  just  as  Buuyan  was  afterwards  imprisoned 
by  the  other  side.  Supported  by  a  nobleman  as  pri- 
vate chaplain,  he  spent  those  stormy  years  in  dili- 
gent study  and  writing,  and  Charles  II.  made  him  a 
bishop.  The  "poet  preacher,"  as  he  is  often  called, 
would  be  intolerable  now  were  it  not  for  his  fervent 
piety.  His  style  is  almost  unrivalled  among  orators 
for  its  affluence  of  elegant  diction,  and  its  wealth  of 
charming  imagery.  It  is  the  very  perfection  of  that 
species  of  eloquence  which  so  many  Sophomores 
are  disappointed  at  not  finding  in  Demosthenes, 
which  tliey  so  fondly  admire  in  Society  speeches  that 
go  forever  curling  like  blue  smoke  towards  the  skies. 
With  the  modern  love  for  directness  and  downright- 
ness  of  expression,  we  are  apt  utterly  to  condemn  this 
high-wrought  splendor  of  ornamentation,  even  as  we 
should  consider  one  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  doublets 
of  bright-hu3d  velvet,  slashed  with  lace,  to  be  very 
pretty  no  doubt  but  a  trifle  ridiculous.  Even  Dr. 
South  already  ridiculed  Taylor's  poetic  imagery  with 
merciless  severity  ;  and  at  the  present  day  I  think 
few  persons  of  mature  age  can  read  long  in  his  glit- 
tering   pages   without  weariness.     And   yet  if  one's 


LEIQHTON.  202 

style  is  naturally  dry,  he  would  find  it  a  tery  prof 
itable  thing  to  interest  himself  in  Jeremy  Taylor, 
not  only  the  Sermons  (which  may  be  had  in  a  single 
volume),  but  still  more  the  famous  treatises  on  Holy 
Living  and  Holy  Dying. 

Similar  to  Taylor  in  fervor  and  sweetness,  even 
surpassing  him  in  unction,  and  at  the  same  time 
remarkable  for  his  clear  and  engaging  style,  is  Arch- 
bishop Leighton  (1613-8i).  Learned,  deeply  devout, 
and  of  kindly  and  loving  nature,  his  pages  reflect 
his  character.  If  you  ask  why  he  is  so  much  praised 
and  so  little  read,  the  answer  would  be,  I  think, 
that  his  writings,  like  his  character,  are  lacking  in 
force.  He  was  not  a  man  of  decided  nature  and 
positive  convictions.  He  consented  to  leave  the 
Scotch  Presbyterian  ministry  and  become  a  bishop, 
with  the  sincere  hope  that  he  might  mingle  the  fire 
and  water  of  the  two  great  religious  parties,  and 
Badly  mourned  over  his  failure  to  overcome  stubborn 
convictions  which  he  was  constitutionally  unfitted 
to  comprehend.  Now  there  is  a  corresponding  want 
of  decision,  positiveness,  power,  in  his  works,  and 
this  is  a  want  for  which  nothing  can  make  amends. 

Leighton  was    fifty  years  old   when   he   changed 


204  ON  HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

his  denomiuation,  and  the  credit  of  his  eloquence 
might  be  claimed  by  both  sides.  But  exactly  con- 
temporary with  him  and  Jeremy  Taylor  were  two 
Puritan  preachers  of  great  eminence,  Baxter  and 
Owen. 

Baxter  (1615-91)  was  not  regularly  educated, 
as  were  nearly  all  the  distinguished  preachers  of 
that  age,  but  from  youth  was  a  great  reader,  and 
through  life  a  voluminous  writer.  His  controversial 
works  are  said  to  show  great  metaphysical  subtlety, 
and  a  good  deal  of  hot-headed  unfairness.  His 
schemes  for  ecclesiastical  union  or  "comprehension" 
were  spoken  of  last  summer  by  Dean  Stanley  with  en- 
thusiastic admiration,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
but  to  ordinary  mortals  they  seem  much  more  credita- 
ble to  his  heart  than  his  head.  But  as  preacher,  and 
as  pastor,  Baxter's  powers  have  seldom  been  equalled. 
The  general  reader  cannot  be  advised  to  study  his 
sermons,  for  with  all  their  power  they  are  to  our 
taste  very  wearisome  by  their  great  length  and  their 
immense  and  confused  multiplication  of  divisions 
and  particulars.  The  scholastic  method  of  dividing 
and  subdividing  without  end  reappears  in  these  great 
Paritan    preachers    as    nowhere    else.     Besides    the 


BAXTER.  206 

demand  which  high  Calvinism  always  makes  fol 
close  thinking  and  careful  distinctions,  these  inter- 
preters were  influenced  by  the  desire  to  find  every- 
thing in  Scripture,  and  to  draw  out  from  every  paa- 
Bage  tlie  whole  of  its  possible  contents ;  and  they 
were  restrained  in  their  analytical  ex'mvagances  by 
no  such  sense  of  artistic  propriety  as  marked  the 
French  Calvinistic  preachers,  and  in  a  less  degree 
the  Anglican  preachers  of  the  same  age.  It  may 
be  added  that  none  of  the  Puritan  divines  seem  to 
have  given  the  slightest  attention  to  finish  of  style, 
caring  only  for  copiousness  and  force — a  torrent  of 
speech.  These  facts  may  help  to  account  for  the  im- 
mense extent  of  their  writings.  Every  possible  ques- 
tion, of  religion  and  of  politics,  was  then  hotly  dis- 
cussed with  fresh  and  present  interest ;  each  of  these 
questions  the  writer  would  treat  under  every  possible 
aspect  and  with  a  studious  multiplication  of  partic- 
ulars ;  and  not  a  moment's  thought  was  bestowed  on 
elegance  of  expression  or  artistic  symmetry  of  ar- 
rangement.    No  wonder  they  wrote  so  much. 

But  while  the  great  mass  of  Baxter's  works 
have  lost  their  interest,  and  his  sermons  are  unat- 
tractire,    every    minister    ought    carefully    to    read 


806  ON   HISTORY   OF   PEEACHINQ. 

his  practicul  treatises  whicli  have  gained  so  wid« 
a  fame,  the  Call  to  the  Unconverted,  Saints'  Kest, 
Narrative  of  his  own  Life,  Dying  Thoughts,  and 
Reformed  Pastor.  These  exhibit  the  great  and  singu- 
larly profitable  characteristic  of  Baxter's  preaching 
and  writing,  viz.,  his  burning,  earth-shaking,  tre- 
mendous earnestness.  In  this  high  quality  of  preach- 
ing he  has  hardly  anywhere  an  equal.  Read  these 
volumes,  again  and  again,  and  let  them  kindle 
anew  in  your  soul  the  zeal  of  the  gospel.  John 
Augell  James  tells  of  an  "Earnest  Ministry"  in 
such  a  way  as  to  make  one  desire  earnestness  ;  but  far 
more  will  Baxter  do  towards  making  us  really  earnest. 
Owen  (1616-83)  was  a  scholar  in  both  classical 
and  Rabbinical  learning,  worthy  to  be  the  contem- 
porary of  Lightfoot  and  "Walton,  ambitious  as  a 
boy  student  at  Oxford,  prodigious  in  life-long  study 
and  authorship,  and  at  the  same  time  a  simple, 
earnest,  and  highly  impressive  preacher.  His  great 
exegetical  and  theological  works  were  the  favorite 
study  of  Andrew  Fuller,  who  regarded  his  character 
also  with  admiring  reverence.  Fuller  was  a  very 
noble  example  of  the  ''self-made "  theologian  and 
preacher,    but    he   made   himself   with   the  help    o! 


BUNTAK.  207 

the  great  scholars  who  had  preceded  him — as  Bell- 
made  men  commouly  must  do.  A  conveuientlj 
accessible  and  good  specimen  of  Owen's  sermons 
may  be  found  in  the  volume  on  Forgiveness,  which 
IS  a  series  of  discourses  on  the  130th  Psalm. 

A  dozen  years  younger  than  Baxter  and  Owen 
was  Flarel  (1627-91).  He  also  was  educated  at 
Oxford,  and  a  good  scholar.  While  not  equal  to 
Owen  in  vigor  and  depth  of  thought,  or  to  Baxter 
in  overwhelming  earnestness,  he  is  pre-eminent  for 
tenderness,  unction,  and  also  excels  in  clearness, 
both  of  arrangement  and  of  style.  He  constructs 
discourses  after  the  fashion  of  the  time,  but  in 
striking  contrast  to  those  of  Baxter  and  Howe,  hia 
plans  are  lucid,  and  even  to  our  altered  taste  are 
not  unpleasing.  It  was  by  hearing  a  pious  lady 
read  Flavel  that  young  Archibald  Alexander,  a 
schoolmaster  in  the  Wilderaess,  near  Fredericksburg, 
Va.,  was  brought  to  Christian  faith  and  hope. 

Bunyan  (1G28-88)  was  not  only  without  regular 
education,  but  was  not  even  a  gi-eat  reader  like 
Baxter.  Yet  his  sermons  are  quite  a  la  mode,  full 
of  divisions  and  subdivisions,  and  their  tone  of 
thought  shows  intellectual  sympathy  with   the  best 


808  ON  HISTORY   OF  PREACHING. 

niiuds  of  the  age.  Even  in  those  few  cases  in  which 
really  great  ''self-made"  men  have  not  learned  much 
from  books,  they  are  always  educated  by  the  thought 
of  their  time,  the  ideas  and  aspirations  which  fill 
the  intellectual  atmosphere.  When  Bunyan  began 
to  preach,  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight,  Owen  and 
Baxter  were  forty  years  old,  Milton  forty-eight,  and 
it  was  only  two  years  before  the  death  of  Cromwell. 
How  much  there  was  to  stimulate  and  educate  the 
susceptible  and  vigorous  mind  of  the  young  tinker. 
Bunyan's  sermons,  though  often  wearisome  in  length 
and  in  minute  analysis,  yet  show  clearness  of  arrange- 
ment and  great  fulness  of  thought,  with  singular 
practical  point  and  consuming  earnestness.  His 
language  in  preaching  cannot  be  expected  to  exhibit 
that  high  poetic  gi-ace,  that  exalted  and  charming 
gimplicity  into  which  his  fancy  was  lifted  amid  the 
inspiring  dreams  of  Bedford  jail,  but  it  is  language 
not  unworthy  of  the  immortal  dreamer.  He  abounds 
in  lively  turns  and  racy  phrases,  in  a  vivid  dramatism 
that  no  preacher  has  surpassed,  and  his  homeliest 
expressions  are  redeemed  from  vulgarity  by  a  native 
elegance,  an  instinctive  good  taste.  The  brief  story 
of  his  early  life  and  conversion  given  in  the  treatise 


JOHN   HOWE.  208 

jailed  "Grace  Abounding"  is  worthy  to  be  placed 
beside  Augustine's  Confessions,  and  his  allegory  oi 
the  Holy  War  has  been  unjustly  obscured  by  the 
lustre  of  its  great  rival.  But  the  "Solomon's  Temple 
Spiritualized"  shows  the  same  creative  imagination 
gone  crazy  with  wild  allegorizing,  because  unrestrained 
by  any  just  principles  of  interpretation.  Only  a 
great  genius  could  produce  such  nonsense.^ 

It  remains  to  mention,  among  the  foremost 
Puritan  preachers,  John  Howe  (1630-1705).  The 
Life  of  Howe,  by  that  admirable  writer,  Henry 
Rogers,  is  of  late  accessible  in  a  cheap  form.  Aa 
there  was  very  little  of  incident  to  relate,  the  biogra- 
pher has  made  his  work  all  the  more  valuable  to  us 
by  discussing  many  related  matters  in  the  religious 
history  of  the  time. 

Howe  was  graduated  both  at  Cambridge  and  at 
Oxford.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  in  that  age  men  who 
held  to  Calvinistic  doctrine  and  non-episcopal  church 
government  could  have  the  benefit  of  the  English 
Universities ;  and  that  most  of  the  great  Puritan 
divines  were  graduates,  as  were  Henry  Dunster,  and 
others  of  those  who  established  the  civilization  and 
culture  of  New  England.     This  fact  is  suggestive, 


210  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

and  yet  we  are  warned  not  to  push  too  far  our  infei 
ences  from  it  by  the  cases  of  Baxter  and  Bunyan. 
At  Cambridge,  Howe  was  intimate  with  Cudwortli, 
More,  and  other  famous  Platonists,  and  became  a 
devoted  and  appreciative  student  of  Plato.  He  was 
a  great  philosophic  theologian,  and  at  the  same  time 
a  very  earnest  and  eloquent  preacher.  With  extraor- 
dinary power  of  intellect  he  had  also  remarkable 
power  of  imagination.  Robert  Hall  said  to  a  friend  : 
"I  have  learned  far  more  from  John  Howe  than 
from  any  other  author  I  ever  read."  Henry  Rogers 
states  that  in  conversation  with  him  Hall  once  went 
so  far  as  to  say,  "as  a  minister,  he  had  derived 
more  benefit  from  Howe  than  from  all  other  divines 
put  together."  This  fervid  admiration  is  in  part 
accounted  for  from  the  fact  that  Howe  ably  wrought 
out  and  powerfully  stated,  as  in  his  treatise  on 
"The  Divine  Prescience,"  precisely  that  scheme  of 
moderate  Calvinism  which  alone  suited  Mr.  Hall'a 
mind.  But  notice  that  Hall  added,  to  the  friend 
first  mentioned  :  "  There  is  an  astonishing  magnifi- 
cence in  his  conceptions."  Of  this  "magnificence" 
no  one  could  better  judge  than  Robert  Hall.  For 
two  reasons  mere  cursory  readers    ai-e  in   danger  oJ 


JOHN    HOWE.  211 

not  appreciating  Howe's  eloquence.  He  is  so  ad- 
dicted to  metaphysical  thinking  that  we  often  hava 
di faculty  in  following  him,  and  so  are  apt  to  bo 
engrossed  with  his  philosophical  theology.  The 
other  reason  is  the  ruggedness  of  his  style.  Mr. 
Hall  says :  "  There  was,  I  think,  an  innate  inapti- 
tude in  Howe's  mind  for  discerning  minute  gracea 
and  proprieties,  and  hence  his  sentences  are  often 
long  and  cumbersome.  Still  he  was  unquestionably 
the  greatest  of  the  Puritan  divines."  Both  the  ob- 
scurity and  the  awkwardness  of  style  must  have  been 
partially  relieved  for  his  hearers  by  the  delivery. 
But  for  us  it  is  necessary  in  approaching  the  study 
of  Howe  to  expect  diflSculty,  and  the  consequent 
careful  reading  will  bring  us  into  acquaintance  with 
many  of  the  noblest  thoughts  the  human  mind 
can  conceive. 

The  changes  since  Howe's  time  have  in  no  respect 
been  greater  than  in  regard  to  the  length  of  religious 
services.  His  contemporary  Calamy  says,  with  ref- 
erence to  the  public  fast  days  which  were  common 
during  the  Protectorate  :  Mr.  Howe  "  told  me  it  was 
upon  those  occasions  his  common  way,  to  begin  about 
nine    in    the   morning,    with   a  prayer  for  about  a 


213  027   HISTORY   OF    PIIEACHIXG. 

quarter  of  an  hour,  in  which  he  begged  a  blessing 
on  the  work  of  the  day ;  and  afterwards  read  and 
expounded  a  chapter  or  psalm,  in  which  he  spent 
about  three-quarters  of  an  hour ;  then*  prayed  for 
about  an  hour,  preached  for  another  hour,  and 
prayed  for  about  half  an  hour.  After  this,  he 
retired  and  took  some  little  refreshment  for  about 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  (the  people  singing  all  the 
while),  and  then  came  again  into  the  pulpit  and 
prayed  for  another  hour,  and  gave  them  another 
sermon  of  about  an  hour's  length ;  and  so  concluded 
the  services  of  the  day,  at  about  four  of  the  clock 
in  the  evening,  with  about  half  an  hour  or  more  in 
prayer."  Seven  hours  of  continuous  services,  with 
an  intermission  of  fifteen  minutes  for  the  poor 
preacher,  and  none  at  all  for  the  poor  people !  But 
in  our  restless  age,  have  we  not  gone  quite  to  the 
opposite  extreme  ? 

In  the  same  year  with  Howe  were  born  Barrow 
and  Tillotson.  Barrow  (1630-77)  was  not  only  a  very 
great  man,  but  in  many  respects  peculiar.  His  ex- 
traordinary physical  strength  and  his  force  of  charac- 
ter led  to  a  youthful  fondness  for  fighting,  and  in 
general  he  was  so  wayward  and  violent  as  to  extort 


BARROW.  213 

from  his  despairing  father  the  singular  \vish,  that 
"  if  it  pleased  God  to  take  away  any  of  his  children, 
it  might  be  his  son  Isaac."  This  famous  saying 
ought  to  be  repeated  on  all  occasions,  as  it  is  such 
a  comfort  to  all  young  men  who  were  bad  boys.  The 
physical  strength  deserves  special  notice,  for  great 
literary  achievements  require  uncommon  power  of 
bodily  endurance,  and  this  is  usually  attended  by 
corresponding  bodily  strength.  Few  men  have  pro- 
duced numerous  and  able  works  who  were  not  strong 
in  body.  But  trusting  in  his  bodily  strength, 
Barrow  indulged  excessively  in  the  use  of  tobaco — a 
species  of  indulgence  which  (I  venture  to  suggest) 
is  particularly  injurious  to  persons  of  sedentary, 
studious  and  anxious  life,  unsafe  even  for  healthy 
ministers,  and  inevitably  hurtful  to  those  who  are 
at  all  feeble  and  nervous.  Imprudent  in  various 
respects,  he  lived  to  the  age    of  only  forty-seven. 

His  early  attainments  were  wonderfuL  He  waa 
made  Fellow  of  Trinity  at  nineteen,  and  would  have 
been  appointed  Greek  Professor  at  twenty-four,  but 
for  the  unpopularity,  at  that  time,  of  his  Armin' 
ianism.  He  then  spent  five  years  in  continental 
trayel,    practicing  rigorous    economy,    and    engaged 


214  ON    HISTORY    OF   PKEACHINO. 

in  diligent  study  and  intercourse  with  learned  n>en, 
Do  our  American  youth  of  to-day  possess  quite  enougV 
of  that  spirit  which  for  sweet  learning's  sake  has  so 
often  faced  the  most  serious  difficulties  and  prac- 
ticed the  sternest  self-denial  ?  I  think  Barrow  and 
his  contemporary  Bourdaloue  were  the  first  great 
preachers  of  modern  times  who  had  been  careful 
students  of  mathematics,  and  Barrow  of  the  physical 
sciences  also.  There  is  something  inspiring  in  the 
bare  mention  of  the  fact  that  Isaac  Barrow  resigned 
a  mathematical  chair  at  Cambridge  to  his  pupil, 
Isaac  Newton.  But  with  all  his  devotion  to  these 
subjects  he  also  laboriously  studied  the  Classics  and 
the  Fathers,  reading,  for  instance,  the  entire  works 
of  Chrysostom  during  a  yeai-'s  sojourn  at  Constanti- 
nople. 

As  your  examinations  are  approaching,  I  will  tell 
the  story  of  Barrow's  examination  for  orders.  Tbo 
aged  bishop,  wishing  but  little  trouble,  placed  the 
candidates  in  a  row,  and  asked  three  questions. 
First,  Quid  est  fides  ?  Barrow,  near  the  end  of  the 
row,  had  time  to  think,  and  when  it  came  to  hia 
turn  answered.  Quod  non  vides.  Excellenter,  said 
the  bishop.     To  the  second  question,  Quid  est  spesf 


BAEROW.  21& 

he  answered,  Nondum  res,  and  the  old  man  cried 
Excellentius.  The  third  was  Quid  est  caritas?  and 
Barrow  answered.  Ah!  magisier,  id  est  raritas. 
Excellentissime,  shouted  the  bishop,  aut  Erasmus 
est,  aut  diabolus. 

But  while  really  a  prodigy  of  attainments  and 
intellectual  achievements,  BarroW  was  never  a  work- 
ing pastor,  and  most  of  the  sermons  he  left  were  in 
fact  never  preached.  Hence  he  was  lacking  in  prac- 
tical point  and  directness,  in  the  tact  of  the  experi- 
enced preacher.  His  sermons  are  really  disquisitions 
on  some  topic,  written  to  satisfy  his  own  mind,  and 
designed  to  be  read  to  others  if  he  should  find  occa- 
sion. As  disquisitions  they  are  wonderfully  com- 
prehensive and  complete,  fully  unfolding  the  subject 
proposed,  and  accumulating  a  wealth  of  interesting 
particulars.  These  particulars  are  sometimes  weari- 
somely numerous,  but,  unlike  the  Puritan  discourses 
we  spoke  of,  they  are  in  general  naturally  arranged, 
and  each  of  them  really  adds  something  to  the  train 
of  thought.  His  style  is  ill  described  by  Doddridge 
as  "  laconic, "  for  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  copious, 
but  it  is  condensed,  compact.  Every  paragraph  seems 
a  treatise,  each  long  sentence  is  crowded  w'th  ideai 


216  OK"  HISTORY  OF   PREACHING. 

And  yet  the  whole  has  movement,  vigorous  and  ma- 
jestic movement,  with  the  energy  of  profuseness,  like 
a  broadly  rolling  torrent. 

Barrow  is  decidedly  Arminian.  The  church  of 
England  was  at  first  Calvinistic  in  doctrine,  as  the 
Articles  show,  but  royalist  hostility  to  the  Puritans 
had  gradually  extended  to  a  rejection  of  the  doc- 
trinal views  especially  associated  with  them,  and 
Churchmen  were  by  this  time  generally  foes  to  Cal- 
vinism. Barrow  however  shows  little  enthusiasm 
for  doctrine.  His  best  sermons  are  on  moral  sub- 
jects, embracing  all  the  leading  topics  of  Christian 
morality.  I  know  not  where  else  in  our  language 
there  can  be  found  sermons  on  this  important  class 
of  subjects  so  complete,  forcible,  satisfactory  as  those 
of  Barrow.  "We  have  heretofore  noticed  the  fact  that 
he  and  Bourdaloue,  both  excelling  in  this  respect, 
were  both  loving  students  of  the  early  master  on 
moral  topics,  Chrysostom.  Read  Jeremy  Taylor  to 
enrich  the  fancy,  but  Barrow  to  enrich  the  intellect 
and  to  show  how  the  greatest  copiousness  may  unite 
with  great  compactness  and  great  energy  of  movement. 

Of  two  other  Anglican  preachers  in  that  a^ 
I  shall  speak  but  briefly. 


TILLOTSON.  21 7 

Dr.  South  (1638-1716)  cannot  be  reconin^euded 
for  doctrine,  nor  yet  for  spirit,  as  he  is  nnlovirg; 
harsh  in  his  polemics,  and  delights  in  a  savage  style 
of  sarcasm.  But  he  shows  great  vigor  of  thought, 
and  skill  in  argument,  particularly  in  refutation. 
The  discussions  are  relieved  by  racy  wit,  the  plan 
of  discussion  is  simple  and  clear,  for  that  age, 
and  the  style  is  condensed,  direct  and  pungent. 
Mr.  Beecher  speaks  of  having  found  special  pleasure 
and  profit  in  an  early  study  of  South. 

Archbishop  Tillotson  (1630-94),  on  the  other  hand, 
■was  a  kindly  and  loving  man,  kind  even  to  Noncon- 
formists— which  is  much  to  say  for  a  Churchman  of 
that  period.     Like  Barrow  and  South,  he  does  not 
preach  the   "doctrines  of  grace,"  but  his  polemics 
against  Popery,    and  against  the  growing  infidelity, 
are  models  of  manly  vigor,  unstained  by  bitterness. 
Tillotson  was  by   many  of  his  contemporaries  con- 
sidered the  foremost  preacher  of  the  age,   and  yet 
at  the  present  day  is  far  less  admired  than   Jeremy 
Taylor  and  Barrow.     I  think  this  can  be  accounted 
for.     As  to  the  fact  itself,  Saurin,  the  French  Pro- 
testant, who  came  to  London  six  years  after  the  good 
Archbishop's  death,    and  was  doubtless  all  the  more 
10 


218  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHING. 

attracted  to  liis  works  by  hearing  of  his  kindnes* 
to  tlie  Huguenot  Refugees,  speaks  with  great  enthu- 
siasm of  his  writings,  calling  him  'my  master,'  as 
Cyprian  used  to  call  Tertullian.  Bishop  Burnet, 
who  survived  Tillotson  only  twenty  years,  says : 
**  He  was  not  only  the  best  preacher  of  the  age,  but 
seemed  to  have  brought  preaching  to  perfection ; 
his  sermons  were  so  well  liked,  that  all  the  nation 
proposed  him  as  a  pattern,  and  studied  to  copy  after 
him."  The  explanation  is,  I  think,  that  Tillotson 
satisfied  the  yearning  of  the  age  for  greater  clear- 
ness and  simplicity,  both  in  arrangement  of  dis- 
course and  in  style,  a  yearning  doubtless  strengthened, 
though  not  caused,  by  the  French  taste  that  prevailed 
in  the  court  of  Charles  II.  From  the  quirks  and  con- 
ceits of  the  Elizabethan  prose,  the  involved,  elaborate, 
sometimes  stupendous  sentences  found  even  in  Milton 
and  Barrow,  and  the  wearisome  divisions  and  subdivis- 
ions of  the  Puritan  preachers,  and  their  contemporary 
Anglicans,  to  the  easy  and  careless  grace  of  the  Addi- 
sonian period,  the  transition  is  made  by  Tillotson. 
Macaulay  relates  that  Dryden  was  frequently  heard 
to  "own  with  pleasure  that,  if  he  had  any  talent 
for  English  prose,  it  was  owing  to  his  having  often 


TILLOTSOK.  219 

read  the  writings  of  the  great  Archbishop  Tillotson." 
But  of  this  simplicity  in  arrangement  and  style  we 
have  long  had  numerous  examples,  some  of  them 
comparatively  free  from  the  faults  of  negligence 
which  are  noted  in  Tillotson  and  in  Addison.  As 
to  topics,  Tillotson's  arguments  against  infidelity  are 
of  course  superseded  now,  and  his  able  polemics 
against  the  Papacy  have  no  general  interest.  Thus 
it  comes  xo  pass  that  we  find  little  profit,  and  little 
ground  for  special  admiration,  in  works  which  were 
long  considered  the  noblest  models  of  composition. 

Much  depends  on  peculiarities  of  taste,  and  on 
felt  personal  need,  but  if  I  were  required  to  recom- 
mend two  of  the  great  English  preachers  of  the 
seventeenth  century  as  likely  most  richly  to  reward 
thorough  study  at  the  present  time,  I  should  name 
Barrow  among  the  Churchmen,  and  among  the  Puri- 
tans John  Howe. 

When  this  splendid  group  of  preachers,  with  their 
contemporaries  whom  we  have  not  been  able  to  no- 
tice, had  passed  away,  there  threatened  to  be  as  com- 
plete a  collapse  of  the  English  pulpit  as  was  at  the 
same  time  occurring  in  France.     The  Puritans,  who 


i^^O  ON"  HISTOllY   or   PREACHIKG. 

formed  the  vital  elemeut  of  the  preceding  century 
had  fallen  into  popular  disfavor,  and  the  Act  of  Toler- 
ation under  William  and  Mary  took  away  the  stimu« 
lus  of  persecution.  What  was  worse,  they  were 
cut  off  from  the  universities,  an  unjust  deprivation 
to  which  all  Nonconformists  were  condemned  until 
within  the  last  few  years.  Their  opportunities  of 
education  during  the  eighteenth  century  were  con- 
fined to  inferior  ''Academies,"  and  the  Scotch  Uni- 
versities. Many  an  aspiring  youth,  as  for  example, 
Joseph  Butler,  was  tempted  into  conformity  by  the 
prospect,  sometimes  even  the  offer,  of  an  education 
at  Oxford  or  Cambridge.  And  it  was  only  as  the 
Dissenters'  Colleges  in  England,  and  the  Scottish 
Universities  began  to  do  vigorous  teaching  at  the  close 
of  the  century,  that  there  was  again  a  Nonconformist 
ministry  of  gi-eat  power.  As  to  the  Churchmen, 
they  had  lost  the  stimulus  of  Puritan  rivalry  in  preach- 
ing, and  were  now  engaged  in  a  life  and  death  strug- 
gle for  the  truth  of  Christianity  with  that  rising 
infidelity  which  had  sprung  on  the  one  hand  from 
the  rationalizing  philosophy  of  Descartes  and  Hobbes, 
and  on  the  other  from  the  reaction  into  immorality 
which  ensued  upon  the  fall  of  the  Commonwealth. 


EIQHTEENTH    CENTURY.  221 

This  struggle  for  the  truth  of  Revelation  was  power- 
fully maintained  by  Bishop  Butler  and  others,  while 
Richard  Bentley  was  carrying  classical  learning  to  a 
height  never  surpassed  in  English  history. 

In  this  state  of  things,  during  the  first  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  Euglish  preaching  did  not  rise 
above  mediocrity.  Bishop  Atterbury,  learned  and 
elegant,  but  not  strong,  was  the  leading  preacher  of 
the  day  in  the  Establishment.  Among  the  Dissent- 
ers, Watts  had  considerable  ability  and  some  elo- 
quence, but  would  now  be  utterly  forgotten  were  it 
not  for  his  hymns.  And  Doddridge,  worked  to  death 
with  his  Academy,  his  pastorate,  his  correspondence 
and  authorship,  has  left  good  sermons  and  good  books, 
but  nothing  of  the  highest  excellence.  In  Scotland 
there  was  Maclaurin,  whose  sermon  on  "  Glorying  in 
the  Cross "  is  truly  one  of  the  ''  Masterpieces  of 
Pulpit  Eloquence."  And  in  far  New  England  lived 
the  foremost  preacher  of  the  age,  one  of  the  very  no- 
blest in  all  history  for  intellect,  imagination,  and  pas- 
eion,  for  true  and  high  eloquence,  Jonathan  Edwards, 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  century  two  men  be- 
came known  who  have  made  illustrious  the  English 
preaching  of  their  day.     Whitefield  and  Wesley  were 


222  ON  HISTORY  OF   PREACHING. 

both  Oxford  men,  and  used  their  cultivation  in  that 
preaching  to  the  masses  which  had  been  the  glory  oi 
the  Puritan  period.  "While  Bolingbroke  assailed 
Revelation,  and  Chesterfield  politely  sneered  at  every- 
thing unselfish  aud  good,  and  Christian  Apologists 
vainly  strove  to  convince  the  intellect  of  the  upper 
classes,  Whitefield  and  Wesley  began  to  preach  to  the 
V  consciences  of  men,  and  thus  felt  no  need  of  confining 
their  discourse  to  the  cultivated  and  refined.  In  this 
preaching  to  the  conscience  must  always  begin,  I 
think,  the  reaction  from  an  age  of  skepticism. 

The  biographies  of  Whitefield  (1714-70)  are  full 
of  instruction.  The  sermons  we  have  were  mere 
preparations,  which  in  free  delivery  were  so  filled 
out  with  the  thoughts  suggested  in  the  course  of 
living  speech,  and  so  transfigured  and  glorified  by 
enkindled  imagination,  as  to  be  utterly  different 
from  the  dull,  cold  thing  that  here  lies  before  us 
— more  different  than  the  blazing  meteor  from  this 
dark,  metallic  stone  that  lies  half  buried  in  the 
eaxth. 

The  sermons  of  Wesley  (1703-91)  require  study, 
and  will  reward  it.  As  printed,  they  were  commonly 
written   out  after  frequent    delivery.     They   are   too 


WESLEY.  Site 

coudensed   tc     have    been  spoken,   in  this  form,    to 
the  colliers  and  the  servant  girls  at  five  o'clock  in  the 
morning.     But  they  must  be  in  substance  the  same 
that    he    habitually    preached,    and    they    present  a 
problem.     Wesley  had  nothing    of  Whitefield's    im- 
passioned   oratory.     He  spoke  with   simple   earnest- 
ness,   and    remained    quiet    while  his  hearers  grew 
wild    with      excitement.     "What     was    the     secret  ? 
"Where  the  hidden  power  ?    "We  can  only  say  that 
it    was    undoubting    faith  and    extraordinary    force 
of  character,    together  with  a  peculiarity  seen  also 
in   some  generals  on   the  field  of  battle,  that  their 
most  intense  excitement  makes  little  outward  noise 
or  show  and  yet  subtly  communicates  itself  to  others. 
Ko  man  can  repeatedly  make  others  feel  deeply  who 
does  not  feel  deeply  himself  ;  it  is  only  a  difference 
in  the  way  of  showing  it.     Of  course  this  subtle  elec- 
tricity resides  in  the  soul  of  the  speaker  much  more 
than  in  the  recorded  discourse.     But  read  carefully 
these  condensed   and  calm-looking  sermons,  and  see 
if  you  do  not  feel  the  power  of  the  man,  and  find 
yourself  sometimes  strangely  moved. 

Late  in  the  centuiy,  and  dying  just  before  "Wesley, 
was  Robert  Robinson  (1735-90),  who  has  left  Aumor- 


224  OK   HISTORY   OP   PREACHING. 

0U8  sermons  that  are  full  of  life,  with  flashes  of 
genius.  His  erratic  and  uLcertain  course  as  to 
doctrine  has  caused  him  to  be  neglected.  But  a 
volume  of  his  selected  sermons,  with  a  statement  on 
the  title-page  that  he  was  the  author  of  the  hymn, 
*'  Come,  thou  fount  of  every  blessing,"  ought  to  find 
sale,  and  would  be  interesting  and  useful. 

"We  come  now  to  the  nineteenth  century,  in  which 
English  pulpit  literature  is  not  only  abundant  but 
shows  real  power,  and  which  must  be  divided,  foi 
our  purpose,  into  an  earlier  and  a  later  portion.  It 
is  obvious  that  we  can  only  mention  the  principal 
names,  and  that  very  briefly. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  century  the  leading 
preachers  were  Hall,  Chalmers,  and  Jay. 

The  deeply  interesting  history  of  Eobert  Hall 
(1764-1831)  is  generally  familiar,  and  remains  as  a 
choice  morsel  for  those  who  have  not  read  it.  His 
precocity  in  childhood,  his  education,  his  inner  life 
and  character,  and  the  origin  of  his  works,  are  all 
topics  full  of  interest.  He  was  equally  studious  of 
thought  and  of  style,  and  in  both  he  reached  the  high- 
est excellence.  Take  any  one  of  his  greatest  sermons 
and  you  will  see  an  exhibition  of  the  noblest  powers. 


EGBERT   HALL.  224 

There  is  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  his  subject, 
and  a  vigorous  grasp  of  it.     There  is  great  knowledge 
of  human  nature,  and  this  not  in  the  way  of  mere 
crude  observation  but  of  profound  reflection.     He  who 
at  nine  years  of   age  delighted  in   Edwards   on  the 
Will    and   Butler's  Analogy,  has  ever  since  been   a 
profound  student  of  metaphysics,  ethics,  and  philo- 
sophical theology  like  that  of  Howe,  and  in  this  deep 
sense   has  studied  human  nature.     He  shows  gi-eat 
analytical  power,  dissecting  every  part  of  the  subject, 
and  laying  it  open ;    and  at  the  same  time  adequate 
power  of  construction,  giving  the  discourse  a  clear, 
simple  and  complete  plan.     We  also  perceive  singular 
power  of  argument.     The  whole  sermon  is  often  an 
argument,  and  upon  a  view  of  the  subject  well  chosen 
for  general  effect ;  and  the  arguments,  though  usually 
profound,  are  made  level  to  the  capacity  of  all  intelh- 
gent  hearers.     His  imagination  is  exalted^  imperial, 
but  constantly  subordinated  to  the  purposes  of  the 
argument.     Nowhere  is  there  imagery  that  appears 
to  be  introduced  for  its  own  sake.     The  most  splendid 
bursts,  the  loftiest  flights,  seem  to  come  just  where 
they  are  natural  and  needful.     And  the  style— well, 
it  is  a  model  of  perspicuity,  energy,  and  elegance 
10* 


226  ON   HISTORY    OF    PREACHIITG. 

The  terms  are  chosen  "with  singular  felicity.  The 
sentences  are  never  very  long,  nor  in  the  slightest 
degree  involved,  and  longer  and  shorter  sentences 
are  agreeably  mingled,  while  the  rhythm  is  greatly 
varied,  and  always  harmonious.  Do  we  mean  to  say 
that  Mr.  Hall's  style  is  perfect  ?  No,  there  are 
palpable,  though  slight  defects,  in  his  most  finished 
productions,  as  there  are  in  every  work  of  every 
writer.  And  in  one  important  resjsect  Mr.  Hall's 
style  is,  if  not  faulty,  yet  quite  opposed  to  the  taste  of 
our  own  time.  It  has  a  dignity  that  is  too  uniformly 
sustained.  Though  not  at  all  pompous,  it  is  never 
familiar,  and  thus  its  range  is  restricted.  There  is 
the  same  diiference  with  regard  to  style,  between 
that  age  and  this,  as  with  regard  to  dress  and  man- 
ners. And  while  we  are  sometimes  too  free  and 
easy,  in  all  these  directions,  yet  upon  the  whole  we 
have  gained.  If  Eobert  Hall  lived  in  our  time,  he 
would  have  greater  flexibility,  and  thereby  his  noble 
Bormons  would  be  sensibly  improved.  Whether  he 
would  not,  if  reared  in  our  age,  have  been  lacking  in 
more  important  respects,  is  another  question. 

Christmas  Evans,  the  Welshman  (1766-1838),  is 
a  notable  example  of  untutored  eloquence.     His  undis* 


CHALMERS.  237 

Ci'pliued  imagination  rioted  in  splendors,  his  descrip- 
tive powers  captivated  the  enthusiastic  Keltic  moun- 
taineers, and  the  whirlwinds  of  his  passion  bore  them 
aloft  to  the  skies.  For  such  a  man,  thorough  educa- 
tioi,  might  have  hampered  the  wings  of  soaring  fancy, 
and  made  him  really  less  effective — a  Pegasus  har- 
nessed to"  the  plough. 

William  Jay  (1769-1853)  was  not  a  man  of  shining 
gifts,  but  is  an  excellent  model  of  sermonizing,  in 
respect  to  his  fresh,  ingenious  and  yet  natural  plans, 
and  in  his  copious,  often  strikingly  felicitous  quota- 
tions from  the  Bible.  Read  his  sermons,  and  also 
his  admirable  Morning  and  Evening  Exercises,  which 
are  sermons  on  a  small  scale. 

Robert  Hall's  most  gifted  contemporary  in  the 
pulpit  was  Chalmers  (1780-1847),  whose  rare  genius 
and  unique  method  in  preaching  one  would  find 
pleasure,  if  there  were  opportunity,  in  attempting 
to  depict.  No  student  of  English  preaching  must 
fail  to  read  the  magnificent  Astronomical  Sermons, 
nor  at  least  a  part  of  the  expository  Lectures  on 
Romans.  He  will  find  that  the  one  thought  of  each 
discourse  is  not  merely  presented  in  ever  varying 
beauty,    like   the  kaleidoscope   to  which  Hall  com- 


228  ON   HISTv-^T   OF   PREACHING. 

pared  Chalmers'  preaching,  but  as  in  our  stereoscope 
it  is  made  to  stand  out  in  solid  form  and  full  propor- 
tions. His  religious  philosophy  is  elevated  and 
satisfying.  His  style  is  beautiful,  but  any  imitation 
of  it  would  be  unpleasing  if  not  ridiculous. 

I  could  wish  to  speak  at  some  length  of  the 
English  preachers  who  have  attained  distinction 
in  the  last  thirty  or  forty  years.  I  should  want  to 
commend  Melvill  for  his  numerous  and  suggestive 
examples  of  rich  discourses  drawn  by  legitimate 
process  from  the  most  unlikely  texts ;  and  to  tell 
of  John  Henry  Newman,  with  his  deep,  magnetic 
nature,  whose  plain  and  intensely  vital  discourses 
make  the  soul  quiver  with  solemn  awe.  To  recom- 
mend Frederick  Robertson  would  be  a  work  of 
supererogation,  for  everybody  has  been  reading  him, 
but  there  might  be  profit  in  attempting  to  discrimi- 
nate, as  he  himself  could  not,  between  the  true  and 
false  elements  which  had  grown  up  together  in  hia 
thought,  and  between  the  strength  and  the  weakness 
of  his  so  attractive  discourses.  I  shoald  direct 
special  attention  to  Canon  Liddon,  now  the  leading 
preacher  in  the  Church  of  England,  whose  elaborate 
sermons  show  us  how  the  most  difficult  fundamental 


ENGLISH   PIIEACHERS.  229 

questions  of  religion,  questions  of  Providence  and 
prayer,  of  sin  and  atonement,  of  the  soul  and  im- 
mortality, may  be  treated  with  reference  to  the 
ablest  attacks  of  disbelief  and  doubt,  and  yet  without 
making  the  sermon  unintelligible,  in  general,  to  any 
hearers  of  fair  capacity  and  cultivation.  And  there 
is  a  whole  class  of  recent  preachers  in  England  and 
Scotland,  who  have  given  new  power  and  interest 
to  expository  preaching,  bringing  to  bear  the  methods 
and  results  of  modern  Biblical  learning,  and  not 
disregarding,  as  did  Chrysostom  and  in  a  less  degree 
Luther,  the  absolute  need,  in  order  to  the  most  effect- 
ive discourse,  of  unity  and  plan.  AKord's  other  ser- 
mons are  not  of  great  power ;  but  his  Sunday  after- 
noon lectures  in  London,  with  many  hearers  holding 
their  Greek  Testaments,  were,  according  to  the  testi- 
mony of  Bishop  Ellicott*  and  others,  surpassingly 
instructive  and  engaging.  Dr.  Vaughan's  expository 
eermons  on  the  Book  of  Revelation  are  quite  good. 
Johnstone  on  James  and  on  Philippians  meets  exactly 
the  wants  of  a  highly  educated  but  gospel-loving 
congregation.  And  Candlish,  the  foremost  Scottish 
preacher  of  the  century  except  Chalmers,  has  in  his 
•  See  the  BiBhop's  excellent  paper  in  the  Life  of  Alford. 


330  ON   HISTORY   OF   PEEACHING. 

Genesis,  First  Epistle  of  John,  and  fifteenth  chap 
ter  of  Corinthians,  taught  a  new  and  high  lesson  in 
pulpit  exposition. 

The  time  would  fail  to  speak  of  strong  Dr.  Binney 
and  Newman  Hall  and  Joseph  Parker,  all  deservedly 
famous ;  of  Bishop  Wilberforce  and  Bishop  Magee, 
whom  one  of  his  colleagues  on  the  Episcopal  bench 
described  to  me  as  the  finest  extemporaneous  speaker 
in  England  ;  of  Guthrie  and  Caird,  Gumming  and 
Ker  ;  of  Landells  and  Maclaren,  whose  little  volumes 
of  brief,  fresh  and  spirited  discourses  are  very  suggest- 
ive to  city  pastors  ;  and  of  Spurgeon,  a  model  in 
several  respects,  but  whose  greatest  distinction,  to  my 
mind,  is  the  fact  that  he  has  so  long  gathered  and 
held  vast  congregations,  and  kept  the  ear  of  the  read- 
ing world,  without  ever  forsaking  the  gospel  in  search 
of  variety,  or  weakening  his  doctrine  to  suit  the 
tastes  of  the  age. 

But  I  have  puriDosely  spoken  chiefly  of  both  the 
English  and  the  French  preachers  who  lived  before 
our  own  time.  I  think  that  young  men  should  be 
ppecially  exhorted  to  read  old  books.  If  you  have 
a  friend  in  the  ministry  who  is  growing  old,  urge 
]iim  to  read  mainly  new  books,  that  he  may  freshen 


COKCLUDIXG    SUfiGEbTIONS.  231 

his  mind,  and  keep  in  sympathy  with  his  surround- 
ings. "  But  must  not  young  men  keep  abreast  of 
the  age?"  Certainly,  only  the  first  thing  is  to  yet 
abreast  of  the  age,  and  in  order  to  this  they  must 
go  back  to  where  the  age  came  from,  and  join  there 
the  great  procession  of  its  moving  thought. 

Can  I  suggest  anything,  in  conclusion,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  character  and  demands,  as  to  preacliing, 
of  the  time  to  which  you  will  belong,  the  coming 
third  or  half  of  a  century  ?  I  shall  barely  touch  a 
few  points,  without  any  expansion. 

(1)  It  becomes  every  day  more  important  to  draw 
a  firm  line  of  demarkation  between  Physical  Science 
and  Theology,  and  to  insist  that  each  party  shall  work 
on  its  own  side  the  line  in  peace.  Even  where  there 
apjjcars  to  be  ground  of  antagonism,  it  will  commonly 
be  best  not  to  court  conflict,  but  to  work  quietly 
on  in  the  assurance  that  we  have  truth,  and  that 
as  new  scientific  theories  pass  out  of  speculation 
into  matured  truth  also,  it  will  then  become  plain 
enough  in  what  way  the  two  departments  of  truth 
are  to  be  reconciled. 

(2)  As  the  past  generation  has  witnessed  a  pain- 


232  ON   HISTORY   OF   PREACHIXG. 

fiilly  rapid  growth  of  religious  skepticism  in  England 
and  America,  so  it  is  to  be  expected  that  your  gen- 
eration will  see  a  great  and  blessed  reaction.  Unless 
I  am  mistaken,  that  reaction  has  already  in  some  di- 
rections begun  to  show  itself.  You  will  promote  the 
healthier  tendencies  by  preaching  the  definite  doc- 
trines of  the  Bible,  and  by  abundant  exposition  of 
the  Bible  text.  Men  grow  weary  of  mere  philosoph- 
ical speculation  and  vague  sentiment,  and  will  listen 
again  to  the  sweet  and  solemn  voice  of  the  Word  of  God. 
(3)  Our  age  has  made  remarkable  progress  as 
to  one  great  doctrine  of  Christianity — progress,  not 
in  apprehending  the  doctrine,  but  in  realizing  its 
truth.  As  the  fourth  century  made  clear  the  Divin- 
ity of  Christ,  so  the  nineteenth  century  has  brought 
out  his  Humanity.  The  most  destructive  criticism 
has  unconsciously  contributed  to  this  result.  It  will 
henceforth  be  possible  to  present  more  complete  and 
symmetrical  views  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  hia 
work  of  salvation  than  the  pulpit  has  generally 
exhibited  in  any  past  age.  Picture  viWdly  before  your 
hearers  Jesus  the  man,  while  not  allowing  them  to 
forget  that  he  was  Christ  the  Son  of  God,  and  yon 
will  mightily  win  them  to  love  and  serve  him. 


CONCLUDING   SUGGESTIONS.  233 

(4)  .It  will  be  important  to  sympathize  with  and 
use  the  humanitarian  tendencies  which  have  become 
BO  strongly  dev^eloped.  Show  in  a  thousand  ways 
what  Christianity  has  done  and  can  do  for  all  the 
noblest  interests  of  humanity,  and  how  all  this  is 
possible  only  because  Christianity  is  itself  divine. 
The  one  true  gospel  of  humanity  is  the  gospel  of 
the  Son  of  God. 

(5)  You  must  know  how  to  unite  breadth  of 
view,  and  charity  in  feeling,  with  fidelity  to  truth. 
The  age  is  in  love  with  liberality,  and  allows  that 
word  to  cover  many  a  falsehood  and  many  a  folly. 
But  the  age  will  feel  more  and  more  its  need  of 
truth,  and  "speaking  truth  in  love"  will  meet  its 
double  want. 

(6)  As  to  methods  of  preaching,  you  are  entered 
upon  a  time  of  great  freedom  in  composition,  a  time 
in  which  men  are  little  restrained  by  classical  models 
or  current  usage,  whether  as  to  the  structure  or  the 
style  of  discourse.  This  is  true  in  general  litera- 
ture, and  also  in  preaching.  You  may  freely  adopt 
any  of  the  methods  which  have  been  found  useful 
in  any  age  of  the  past,  or  by  varied  experiment  may 
.eam  for  yourselves  how  best  to  meet  the  wants  oi 


234  ON   HISTORY   OF   I'llEACHING. 

the  present.     Freedom   is  always  a  blessing  and  a 
power,  when  it  is  used  with  wise  self-control. 

(7)  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  caution  you  against 
the  love  of  sensation  which  marks  our  excitable  age. 
"We  see  this  in  many  writers  of  history  and  romance, 
even  in  some  writers  on  science,  to  say  nothing  of  nu- 
merous politicians  and  periodicals.  A  few  preachers, 
some  of  them  weak  but  some  really  strong  men,  have 
fallen  in  with  this  tendency  of  the  time.  Where 
they  have  done  much  real  good,  it  has  been  rather 
in  spite  of  this  practice,  than  by  means  of  it,  and 
they  should  be  instructive  as  a  warning. 

(8)  In  your  time,  as  in  all  times,  the  thing  needed 
will  be  not  oratorical  display  but  genuine  eloquence, 
the  eloquence  which  springs  fi'om  vigorous  thinking, 
strong  convictions,  fervid  imagination  and  passionate 
earnestness  ;  and  true  spiritual  success  will  be  at- 
tained only  in  proportion  as  you  gain,  in  humble 
prayer,  the  blessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

I  trust,  brethren,  that  these  observations  on  the 
History  of  Preaching — for  the  abounding  imperfec- 
tions of  which. I  shall  not  stop  to  apologize — may  by 
God's  blessing  be  of  some  use  in  preparing  you  for 
the  difficult  and  responsible,  yet  sweet  and  blessed 


CONCLUSION.  236 

leork  to  which  your  lives  are  devoted.  I  trust  you 
will  feel  incited  to  study  the  instructive  history  and 
inspiring  discourses  of  the  great  preachers  who  have 
gone  before  you,  and  will  be  stimulated  by  their  ex- 
ample to  develop  every  particle  of  your  native  power, 
and  to  fill  your  whole  life  with  zealous  usefulness. 
Themistocles  said  the  trophies  of  Marathon  would 
not  let  him  sleep.  May  the  thought  of  all  the  noble 
preachers  and  their  blessed  work  kindle  in  you  a 
noble  emulation.  And  when  weary  and  worn,  stir 
yourselves  to  fresh  zeal  by  remembering  the  rest  that 
remaineth  and  the  rewards  that  cannot  fail.  "  0  to 
shine,"  said  Whitefield  one  night  as  he  stood  preach- 
ing in  the  open  air  and  looked  up  to  the  brilliant 
heavens,  "0  to  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  fimft* 
ment,  as  yonder  stars  forever  and  ever.*' 


APPENDIX. 


"Without  attempting  anything  like  a  complete 
account  of  the  Literature  belonging  to  those  depart- 
ments of  the  History  of  Preaching  which  are  treated 
in  these  lectures,  it  may  be  useful  to  mention  some 
of  the  principal  works  in  each  case,  so  far  as  known 
to  the  author. 

V 

On  Lecturb  II.  (Preaching  in  the  Early  Chris- 
tian  centuries). 

L  "Works  of  the  Fathers,  with  the  Lives,  Prefaces; 
Monita,  etc.,  of  the  Benedictine  and  Migne  editions. 

Works  on  Church  History. 

Gibbon. 

Bingham's  Antiquities,  and  Smith's  Diet,  of  Chrish 
tian  Antiquities. 

IL     Paniel,  Geschichte  der  christlichen  Beredsam- 


APPENDIX.  237 

keit  uud  der  Homiletik,  1839.  (Much  the  most 
thorough  work  on  the  General  History  of  Preaching  ; 
but  only  a  fragment,  ending  with  Augustine.  Most 
of  the  chapter  on  Chrysostom  was  translated  in  the 
Bibliotheca  Sacra,  1847.) 

Ehert,  Gesch.  der  christlich-lateinischen  Liter- 
atur,  1874.  (Extends  to  Charlemagne,  and  designed 
as  Introduction  to  General  History  of  the  Literature 
of  the  Middle  Ages  in  the  West.  A  work  of  great 
learning,  vigor  and  freshness,  in  which,  however, 
the  history  of  preaching  necessarily  occupies  a  sub- 
ordinate place.) 

Villemain,  Tableau  de  I'Eloquence  Chretienne  au 
IVe  Si^cle.  (New  edition,  1870.  A  series  of  very 
entertaining  essays.) 

Moule,  Christian  Oratory  during  the  first  five  cen- 
turies. London,  1859.  (A  prize  essay  of  consider- 
able interest  and  value.) 

Bromel,  Homiletische  Charakterbilder,  1869-74. 
(Begins  with  sketches  of  Chrysostom  and  Augustine 
Well  written  and  fair.) 

Fish,  Masterpieces  of  Pulpit  Eloquence.  New 
York.  (Contains  sermons,  with  brief  historical 
Bketches  of  periods  and  of  individual  preachers.     It 


238  APPENDIX. 

v/oulJ  be  easy  to  point  out  faults  in  this  work,  but  it 
is  convenient  and  useful.) 

III.  On  the  Life  of  Chrysostom,  Neander  is  still 
valuable,  Perthes  not  worth  much  ;  Stephens  (London, 
1872)  is  the  fullest  and  best  work  ;  F'drster  (Gotha, 
18G9)  treats  ably  of  Chrysostom  in  relation  to  Doc- 
trine-history ;  "  The  Mouth  of  Gold, "  by  Edwin 
Johnson  (New  York,  1873),  a  sort  of  dramatic  poem 
on  the  life  and  times  of  Chrysostom,  is  worth  reading. 
— Martin,  Saint  Jean  Chrysostome,  scs  oeuvres  et  son 
siecle.  Paris,  1875,  three  volumes,  8  vo.,  I  have 
not  seen. 

Lecture  IIL  (Medieval  and  Eeformation  Preach- 
ing.) 

Works  on  Church  History,  and  special  works  on 
the  Reformation. 

Works  of  St.  Bernard,  Antony  of  Padua,  Thomas 
Aquinas,  Tauler. 

Lives  and  Works  of  Luther,  Calvin,  and  Zwingle. 

Lenz,  Geschichte  der  christlichen  Homiletik, 
1839.     (Useful,  though  meagre.) 

Neale,  Medieval  Preaching.  London,  185G.  (Noi 
thorough,  but  serviceable.) 


APPENDIX.  239 

Baring- Gould,  Post-Medieval  Preaching.  London, 
1865.  (A  mere  collection  of  curious  odds  and  enda 
about  second-rate  preachers.) 

Brmiel,  Charakterbilder  (as  above). 

Histories  of  German  Preaching,  especially  those 
by  Schenk  and  Schmidt,  give  accounts  of  Luther  aa 
a  preacher. 

Fish,  Masterpieces  (as  before). 

Lecture  IV.     (Great  French  Preachers.) 

Works  of  the  Preachers  in  question,  especially  of 
Bossuet,  Bourdaloue,  Massillon,  Saurin,  A.  Monod, 
Bersier. 

Voltaire,  Age  of  Louis  XIV. 

Vinct,  Histoire  de  la  Predication  parmi  les  R6- 
formes  de  France  au  Dix-Septieme  Siecle.  Paris, 
18G0.  (A  remarkably  good  book,  containing  sketches, 
representative  extracts,  critical  discussions,  and  prac- 
tical hints.) 

Feugere,  Bourdaloue :  Sa  Predication  et  son 
Temps.     2'^«    ed.      Paris.      1874.      (Thorough   and 

able.) 

Bossuet    and    his    Contemporaries.     New    Yorkj 


*40  APPENDIX. 

1875.  (By  an  English  lady.  Eeadable,  and  of  som« 
value.) 

Berthault,  Saurin  et  la  Predication  Protestante 
jusqu'  d  la  fin  du  regne  de  Louis  XIV.  Paris,  1875. 
(Pretty  good,  but  not  like  Feugere  or  Vinet.) 

Bungener,  The  Preacher  and  the  King,  or  Bourda- 
loue  in  the  Court  of  Louis  XIV.  (A  new  edition 
of  the  translation  is  just  issued.  Well  known  as  an 
interesting  and  instnictire  story.) 

Alexander,  Thoughts  on  Preaching.  Art.  "Elo- 
quence of  the  French  Pulpit."     (Quite  good.) 

Turnbull,  Pulpit  Orators  of  France  and  Switzer- 
land. New  York,  1848.  (Several  sermons  from  the 
first  half  of  this  century,  with  brief  sketches  of  the 
preachers.) 

Fish,  Masterpieces  (as  before),  and  also  his  Pulpit 
Eloquence  of  the  nineteenth  century.  (The  trans- 
lation he  gives  of  Bourdaloue  is  faulty,  and  that  ol 
Massillon  is  very  bad.) 

Lectuke  V.     (English  Pulpit) 

Lives  and  Works  of  the  Preachers  in  question. 
Works  on  English  Hiatory. 


APPENDIX.  241 

Works  on  Ecelesiastical  History  of  England, 
especially  Burnet,  Fuller,  Wordsworth's  Eccl.  Biogra- 
phy, Stoughton. 

Fish's  two  works  (as  above). 

Alexander,  Thoughts  on  Preaching.  Art.  "The 
Pulpit  in  Ancient  and  Modern  Times." 

Great  Modern  Preachers.  London.  1875.  A 
small  volume,  containing  a  dozen  pleasant  sketches 
of  English  Preachers. 

Our  Bishops  and  Deans.  By  Eev.  F.  Arnold. 
London,  1875.  2  volumes,  Svo.  Hastily  written,  but 
entertaining. 


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